Ryots hold key to Prathipadu poll outcome

GUNTUR: Prathipadu (SC Reserved) Assembly Constituency is all set to witness a triangular contest among ruling Telugu Desam, opposition YSR Congress and Jana Sena on April 11, when polling takes place at 283 booths. The sitting MLA and former Social Welfare minister Ravela Kishore Babu, who quit TDP, is contesting on JSP ticket. Kishore Babu, who won Prathipadu seat on TDP ticket in the 2014 elections and later got a berth in Chandrababu Naidu’s Cabinet. He lost his ministry last year and later left TDP to join the Jana Sena. MLC and former minister Dokka Manikya Varaprasad Rao is now contesting on the TDP ticket and former MLA Mekathoti Sucharitha is in the fray as a YSRC candidate.

The main aspirant for the Assembly seat, however, was Kandukuri Veeraiah, who lost twice from Prathipadu and as a result of this the TDP high command changed the candidate this time. It has given ticket to Manikya Varaprasad Rao, who has good influence in Vatticherukuru, Kakumanu, Pedanandipadu and Guntur rural mandals in Prathipadu segment.

The farmers are said to be the deciding factor in the outcome of the election to Prathipadu constituency this time. Consequently, all the major parties are promising to complete the Guntur Channel extension up to Parchur Mandal in Prakasam district. For over eight decades, the farmers are agitating for extension of Guntur Channel and Nallamada Rythu Sangham is demanding the launch of the project. But, the successive governments have not sanctioned any funds for it. Hence, this issue takes centrestage this time around.

The TDP government had, however, issued a GO sanctioning funds for the project, but did not start the works and as a result of this the farmers are agitating and demanding that the project be taken up immediately. Kishore Babu claimed that he got over Rs 2,500 crore funds sanctioned for various development works in Prathipadu as a minister.

He vowed to complete the Nallamada drain, which is a long pending project, by extending Guntur Channel up to Prakasam district. He said that water crisis in the villages will be solved and Girijan Bhavan be completed provided the people gave their mandate to him in the election. Sucharitha said that the problems faced by the people of the area were numerous, but their main demand was completion of Guntur Channel extension project in time. She said that the farmers were facing irrigation water crisis and further drinking water problem plagued the villages and as a result she had given the voters assurances of clearing the water-related issues if elected, in no time. She also said that the people were asking for house sites to the eligible poor and development of burial grounds in the villages.

Nallamada Rythu Sangham president Dr Kolla Rajamohan lamented that the successive governments were negligent about the completion of the long pending project of Guntur Channel extension and as a result people of the area were still eagerly waiting for a solution to their irrigation water woes. He alleged that the political parties were fielding rich candidates, who would not bother much about the lot of the poor peasants once they won.

Citing the example of the recently held MLC election, he said that money power was not on display there and election of an independent proved that it was fought on real issues. When will the politicians serve people after they won by spending crores of rupees, he said alluding that such winners would be busy recovering the money rather than serving the people, especially the poor.