TIRUPATI: Nellore city Assembly constituency is set to witness an intense electoral battle in the forthcoming elections with the ruling YSRC determined to retain its stronghold, while the Opposition Telugu Desam (TD), Jana Sena (JS), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have joined forces in an attempt to make inroads into the YSRC's bastion.
Despite incumbent MLA and former minister Dr P. Anil Kumar Yadav of the YSRC secured consecutive victories in 2014 and 2019, several unaddressed local issues during his decade-long stint as an MLA resulted in growing discontent among the voters. One of the major grievances is the incomplete underground drainage scheme for Nellore city, which has been moving at a snail's pace for nearly a decade due to various issues.
Ironically, 80 per cent of the project had been completed during the previous TD regime, but the YSRC government allegedly paid little attention to its completion. Drinking water supply, mosquito menace, and unhygienic conditions in vacant plots have also become pressing concerns for the city's residents.
Seizing the opportunity, the TD, in its first pre-election promise, has vowed to complete these long-pending civic issues immediately after coming to power. Dr Ponguru Narayana, the former municipal administration minister and the TD-JSP-BJP candidate for the city constituency, has been actively campaigning, highlighting the civic problems and promised to rectify the longstanding issues.
Meanwhile, the situation has become complex for YSRC due to internal squabbles and some key leaders shifting allegiance to the TD. Though Anil Kumar had managed to secure party ticket for his follower Mohammad Khaleel Ahmed for the Nellore City, it resulted in several senior leaders, YSRC cadres and ranks leaving the party. However, to regain strength, YSRC chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy deputed Rajya Sabha member V. Vijayasai Reddy as the Nellore Lok Sabha candidate.
This move has energised the party leaders and cadres, with Vijayasai Reddy known for pacifying disgruntled party cadres and aggressively moving in all the segments to bring order by regrouping the dissidents within the YSRC. He is actively campaigning in the city, along with Khaleel Ahmed, assuring the resolution of civic issues.
Additionally, he is promising the establishment of an airport and striving for industrial, aquaculture, and agricultural growth in the region. In 2019, Anil Kumar Yadav secured a narrow 47 per cent vote victory over Narayana's 46 per cent. Narayana enjoys the influential Kapu community's and traditional TD vote bank, while YSRC's Khaleel Ahmed enjoys the party's traditional base and Muslim community support.
