As it appears, the fate of Vijayawada (Central) constituency depends largely on sitting Congress MLA Malladi Vishnu and the TDP-BJP alliance, which is on the verge of materialisation. There are talks that Mr. Vishnu might switch loyalty to the BJP, and in that case the contest is going to be between him and Gowtham Reddy of the YSR Congress, as then the TDP would not be fielding a candidate.
Triangular fight on the cards!But if Mr. Vishnu chooses to sail with the Congress, it is going to be a triangular fight between Mr. Gowtham Reddy, Mr. Vishnu and Bonda Umamaheswara Rao of the Telugu Desam Party.
Post-delimitation in 2009, the Vijayawada (Central) Assembly constituency was carved out of the Vijayawada (east), Vijayawada (west) and Kanuru. The young constituency will be going to polls for the second time after 2009. This election, the YSR Congress will be fielding its candidate from this segment for the first time and in all likelihood, it will be Mr. Gowtham Reddy.
The total electorate of the segment at present is said to be about 2.3 lakh-- men (1.16 lakh) and women (1.14 lakh). In the last election, 1,58,267 voters of the total 2,23,822 exercised their franchise, recording a healthy polling percentage of 71.
The primary areas under this constituency are Gunadala, Machavara (down), Suryaraopet, Gandhinagar, Durgapuram, Madhuranagar, Satyanarayanapuram, Ayodhya Nagar, Ajit Singh Nagar, Vambay Colony, Payakapuram, Governorpet and Bhanunagar.
The constituency predominantly comprises working class, with around 60,000 people working in Auto Nagar, alone. The segment was once considered as the bastion for the Left parties. But, over the years, other political parties have also made their presence felt.
In 2009, Mr. Vishnu (Congress) drubbed his nearest rival Vangaveeti Radhakrishna (Radha) of the Praja Rajyam Party. While 52,426 votes were polled in favour of Mr. Vishnu, Radha could secure 51,578 votes, followed by Ch. Babu Rao of CPI (M) (38,273).
Voters’ profileVijayawada is prone to politics based on caste equations, but when it comes to Vijayawada (Central), things look a tad different, with the bourgeois playing a dominant role here. Even the demographic profile is pretty fragmented with Schedule Castes constituting 21,000 votes, followed by Muslims with around 19,000 and Brahmins having close to 16,000 votes.
Transport issuesComing to the problems of the constituency, the primary issue is transport. There have been long-pending demands for construction of flyovers at Madhuranagar, Nunna, Ajit Singh Nagar and Gunadala. This apart, the residents have been voicing for an alternate road connecting the Ajit Singh Nagar to the city.
The other important issue plaguing the residents is the underground drainage system. The authorities have constructed the UGD but have not built the STP (sewage treatment plant) for which overflow of drains have become a perennial problem here.
