The contest for the Anantapur Lok Sabha seat is slated to be one which will go down to the wire with a keen contest on the cards.
With the Congress becoming almost a non-entity and none even coming forward to contest the seat on Congress ticket, the fight is between the YSRC and the TDP and its respective candidates Ananta Venkatrami Reddy and J.C. Diwakar Reddy.
While Diwakar Reddy is a former Congress Minister and five-time legislator from Tadipatri Assembly segment who enjoys considerable influence in the constituency, Ananta Venkatrami Reddy is a five-time parliamentarian who commands greater respect and goodwill among the electorate because of his unblemished public life as an MP. Mr. Diwakar Reddy shifted loyalties to the TDP recently and Mr. Ananta Venkatrami Reddy quit the Congress and joined the YSRC. While Mr. Venkatrami Reddy has great connections, Mr. Diwakar Reddy needs to cultivate new ones.
With the TDP striking an alliance with the BJP, the polarisation of the Muslim votes might well be beyond estimates.
