Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency polls- an acid test for YSRCP, Congress

Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency, center of political drama, legacy battle, and development projects, poised for pivotal 2024 elections.

Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency has become the cynosure of all eyes across India in the run-up to the general elections 2024 for more reasons than expected.

Even as the YSRCP president and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is having a running feud with his younger sister and Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila Reddy, the poll outcome in this constituency is expected to determine who inherits the much-acclaimed legacy of their father and former Chief Minister late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

There is much ado about the ‘YSR legacy’, as the entire district remained under the control of the YSR family for over four decades. After YSR’s demise in a helicopter crash in 2009 and the resultant formation of the YSRCP by his son, the formidable vote bank of the Congress witnessed significant erosion from this constituency. It is another matter that the party got totally swept away from the State after the bifurcation.

The Congress has gone from being invincible to almost invisible. In Kadapa, the Party has seen a total rout. If the national party nurtures a ray of hope of winning at least one seat in Andhra Pradesh, it is only in the Kadapa Parliamentary constituency.

The party, drifting without an oar for a decade, finally got Ms. Sharmila to steer it towards the shore. And when she chose Kadapa to pitch her to the Lok Sabha, the thoroughly disenchanted cadre gained enthusiasm.

The major weapon for any political outfit here is the Kadapa Steel Plant, which is perhaps the only project for which foundation stones were laid thrice. The first one was laid by N. Chandrababu Naidu at Kambaladinne in Mylavaram mandal in 2018 during the TDP regime. After the change of guard, the new Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy laid a stone at Sunnapurallapalle in Jammalamadugu mandal in December 2019 and once again in February 2023.

Though the project was originally meant to be executed by the State to promote industrial growth as well as bring jobs to the backward region, it faced an uphill task due to issues ranging from viability to logistical support.