Drinking water and access to institutional credit are the most talked about subjects in all villages of the Anantapur parliamentary constituency and the fate of the candidates is hinged on how well a candidate drives home his or her point of view in providing a solution in a definitive time-frame.
The common complaint from the voters is lack of drinking water in villages across all the seven Assembly segments except for the Anantapur Urban constituency. Groundwater levels are abysmally low and access to quality drinking water is a major concern, which has been identified by Telugu Desam Party candidate J.C. Pavan Reddy, son of sitting MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy.
“I have been concentrating on providing safe drinking water and completed it in 200 villages out of the 940 I have visited in the past one year, despite not being sure of getting a ticket from this seat,” Mr. Pavan Reddy tells The Hindu. He claims to have set up 200 water plants so far and the target is to set up 1,000 in the next few months.
His father’s image helps him to some extent, but the youth connect he has due to the age advantage puts him ahead of others in the race, says Mr. Pavan, even as he is surrounded by youth for a selfie with him.
‘Defective policy’
An official of Additional Director rank from the Textiles Department Talari Rangaiah, who had worked as a Project Director of DRDA in Anantapur, on the other hand finds the number of farmer suicides, women trafficking and migration of youth to cities are of grave concern as, according to him, sufficient government policy focus has not been there on these aspects.
Popularly known as PD Rangaiah, who voluntarily demitted office a year ago, he points out that his campaign for the YSR Congress Party is a low-budget one as he does not have resources like Mr. Pavan. But his major strength, he says, is his close connect with DWCRA or Self Help Groups and weavers, which he has developed while discharging his official duties.
Mr. Rangaiah points out that repayment of loans was not a problem as he could achieve 96% compliance by women and Anantapur stood first by disbursing ₹2,000 crore. “Even in the agriculture sector, farmers take loans at a higher interest rate from private lenders due to non-availability from the government sector and repay on time without defaulting,” the YSR Congress candidate observes. The policy needs to be designed properly and implemented with conviction, he adds. Of the 16 lakh voters, 9 lakh are from the backward classes and Mr. Rangaiah, being from that community, expects people to look up to him to solve their problems. Out of the 16 times elections were held for this constituency, Indian National Congress has won 12 times, while Telugu Desam Party was victorious three times and Tarimela Nagi Reddy from the CPI once in 1957.
‘Funds not utilised’
The Communist Party of India supported by the Jana Sena Party and the CPI(M) has fielded D. Jagadeesh, who finds fault with Mr. Diwakar Reddy for allegedly not utilising his constituency development funds. Out of ₹10 crore, only ₹4 crore was utilised, he charges. A strong Communist party cadre base in all seven Assembly constituencies aided by the youth following for Jana Sena Party will work for me, says Mr. Jagadeesh. The JSP expects a big push from voters in the Guntakal constituency, where the CPI too has a large base. With dissidence in the TDP in Rayadurg and Kalyandurg constituencies put to rest by Chief Minister and TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu, Mr. Pavan expects it to be a shot in his arm. The YSRCP is upbeat over the recent exodus of leaders from the TDP in Tadipatri, its strength in Singanamala (SC) constituency in the form of its candidate J. Padmavathi and from four-time MP Anantha Venkatarami Reddy, who is the party candidate from the Anantapur Urban constituency.