Voters of Gudivada Assembly constituency, from where the State’s first non-Congress Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao was elected, will have a difficult choice to make on April 11.
On one side is sitting MLA Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao (Nani) of the YSRCP, and on the other is debutante Devineni Avinash, son of late Devineni Rajasekhar, who is contesting from the TDP.
The TDP has an edge due to its various welfare schemes, going by the local mood. Annevarapu Chari, a fruit vendor, said whatever development has taken place in the region was under the TDP regime and suggested that the welfare schemes, particularly Pasupu Kumkuma, had made many sections happy. He said Mr. Nani was a good MLA, but he did not work to his potential.
Ranga Rao, a daily wager, said the State would have headed for trouble had N. Chandrababu Naidu not become the Chief Minister in 2014. “He managed to develop the State without the support of the Centre,” Mr. Ranga Rao said, adding that the Polavaram project was a shot in the arm for the State.
Srinivas Sai, a student in a private college, said that while Mr. Naidu has done a good job as CM, there would be no harm in giving the YSRCP a chance.
Mr. Nani won the 2004 and 2009 elections as a TDP candidate against Congress’s Katari Eswar Kumar and Pinnamaneni Venkateswara Rao.
Political observers say that Mr. Avinash, being a non-local, would have to put in an extra effort to strike a chord with the masses. The TDP, for its part, has resolved to give the YSRCP a run for its money as it is focusing heavily on the segment.
Mr. Avinash says he is committed to developing Gudivada into a model constituency by giving due priority to roads, irrigation and provision of drinking water.
Mr. Nani, on the other hand, believes that the anti-incumbency factor would work to his advantage.