With around 3.60 lakh voters, Bheemunipatnam is one of the biggest Assembly constituencies in North Andhra districts. The political heat, already high with senior politicians Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao (YSRCP) and Ganta Srinivasa Rao (TDP) undertaking hectic campaigns, is all set to rise by several notches as the poll date nears. The contest is a keen watch because both candidates have never lost an election in the past two decades.
Bheemunipatnam is the only Assembly constituency in the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha segment with the demographic profile of rural and urban voters. It has three rural mandals and eight urban wards. While 2.50 lakh voters are from urban areas, around 1.10 lakh are from rural areas.
Bheemunipatnam Assembly constituency was established during the year 2009 due to delimitation orders. Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao won in the 2009 elections from the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP). In the 2014 elections, Ganta Srinivasa Rao contested from this constituency as a TDP candidate and won with a good majority. He later became Education Minister. During the 2014 elections, Muttamsetti contested as Anakapalli MP from the TDP and won.
During the year 2019, Muttamsetti parted ways with the TDP and joined the YSRCP. He was offered the Bheemunipatnam ticket again. He locked horns with senior politician Sabbam Hari and won with over 9,000 votes majority. This 2024 election is the third time for Muttamsetti and the second time for Ganta Srinivasa Rao to contest from Bheemunipatnam.
Both hailing from the powerful Kapu community, Ganta and Muttamsetti depend largely on the Kapu votes, which is said to be at least 25 % of the total 3.60 lakh voters. Besides, both these senior politicians have a very strong grip on the grassroots level.
In fact, Ganta Srinivasa Rao started his campaign in Annavaram village, where he gained a huge majority during the 2014 elections. The former Education Minister has set a target to gain the majority in all the wards for which he has been extensively campaigning. Panchakarla Sandeep, Bheemunipatnam JSP in-charge and Korada Raja Babu, Bheemunipatnam TDP incharge, have extended their complete support, while TDP MP candidate M. Sribharat is also actively endorsing vote for the alliance.
Being a two-time MLA from the region, Muttamsetti holds a firm grip on the constituency and has strengthened the cadre. In the name of ‘Gadapa Gadapa Ki Mana Prabhutvam’, he has been actively involved in public programmes for the last year. Muttamsetti’s daughter is a corporator of Ward 6 in Madhurwada, which is said to be one of the biggest wards in the GVMC.
The former Tourism Minister has received much support from YSRCP MP candidate Botcha Jhansi Lakshmi, who has taken up several road shows in the constituency. Several TV actors have recently started supporting Muttamsetti in the election canvassing in Bheemunipatnam.
Prominent constituency
Once a coastal suburb of Visakhapatnam and a Dutch settlement during the 17th Century, Bheemunipatnam has gradually evolved into a prominent region. The constituency has seen growth in tourism, the aqua industry, and the IT sector in the past two decades. The YSRCP has selected Bheemunipatnam as a suitable location to develop the required infrastructure in the event that Visakhapatnam is made the Executive capital. The YSRCP assures the voters that Bheemunipatnam will gain all prominence once Vizag starts functioning as executive capital and on completion of the Bhogapuram Airport.
Apart from taking forward the Super-Six and the regular manifesto, Ganta Srinivasa Rao is assuring the locals to come up with a local manifesto which includes constituting ‘Bheemunipatnam Development Forum’, developing satellite township, tourism and bringing back the past glory of the IT sector at Rushikonda.
Besides these, the development of the RTC Complex at Tagarapuvalasa, Madhurawada, the completion of the Pandrangi bridge, the setting up of a foot-over-bridge at Chandramapalem, amenities creation in rural areas, construction of a jetty at required locations have been some of the demands from the voters.
