Allocation of Cabinet berth and significant portfolios to two senior YSRCP leaders from the district – Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy and K. Narayanaswamy – is being widely welcomed by all sections of the cadres, considering their seniority and unremitting leadership.

For Mr. Ramachandra Reddy, it’s the second time to hold a Cabinet berth after his stint during 2009-10 as Forest Minster in the K. Rosaiah government.

Differences with Kiran

He, however, had quit the Ministry immediately after N. Kiran Kumar Reddy took over as the Chief Minister. As differences between them reached a crescendo, Mr. Ramachandra Reddy left the Congress despite 35 years of association with the party. His joining the YSRCP in 2012 literally supplanted the Congress in the district, thanks to his one-man show for two decades since 1990.

Though the YSRCP was defeated in the 2014 elections, Mr. Ramachandra Reddy could bag eight seats for the party out of 14 in the district. His unique style of touring his constituency (Piler and later Punganur) at least once in every six months has made his influence indomitable in the western mandals of the district. In the recent elections, Mr. Ramachandra Reddy ensured the party’s victory across the district. The YSRCP won 13 of the 14 Assembly seats, to the exception of Kuppam, where former Chief Minster and TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu won.

Key functionary

Mr. Narayanaswamy has substantial sway in the eastern mandals of the district from Satyavedu to Gangadhara Nellore. He enjoys considerable hold hold among the Dalits. Before winning the GD Nellore (SC) constituency on the YSRCP ticket, Mr. Narayanaswamy had represented the Congress from Satyavedu (SC) constituency from 2004 to 2009.

After joining the YSRCP early in 2011, he became a key functionary, spreading the party’s ideology across and strengthening the cadres’ base. Even after losing the election in 2014, Mr. Narayanaswamy remained steadfast in leading the party workers. Though the names of other MLAs – Chevireddi Bhaskar Reddy, R.K. Roja and Bhumana Karunakar Reddy – have made rounds, cadres owing allegiance to these leaders maintain that they will not miss the bus after two-and-a-half years.

Issues at stake

Chittoor district is halfway through major irrigation projects such as Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanti and Galeru-Nagari, and a dozen minor projects. Despite the presence of Sri City industrial zone in the eastern mandals, the district is hard hit in the arena of employment. The representation of the two Ministers also assumes significance as the district is plagued by the issues such as smuggling of red sanders, sand and gravel, and indiscriminate granite mining.