The voters of the Gannavaram Assembly constituency don’t seem to have much of a different choice this year in terms of the main candidates or the parties in the fray. However, there is one complication.
Vallabhaneni Vamsi, who contested on the TDP ticket in 2019, is now contesting from the YSRCP, and Yarlagadda Venkat Rao, who was in the fray on the YSRCP ticket in 2019, is now contesting on the TDP ticket.
This election is expected to corroborate whether the electorate in the Gannavaram Assembly constituency is voting for the candidate or the political party.
The Gannavaram Assembly constituency was a bastion for the Communist parties till 1982. Puchalapalli Sundaraiah won from this constituency in 1955, 1962 as a CPI candidate, and again in 1978 as a CPI-M candidate. After the inception of the TDP in 1982, the constituency always voted in its favour except in the 1989 election when Congress leader Musunuri Ratna Bose won.
On two other occasions, Gadde Rammohan Rao in 1994 and Muddaraboyina Venkateswara Rao in 2004 as TDP and Congress rebel candidates, respectively.
In this election, the fight between YSRCP and TDP intensified, with both the parties’ contenders being rebel candidates of the opposite camp.
While Mr. Vamsi defected to YSRCP soon after winning on the TDP ticket in 2019, Mr. Venkat Rao, who lost on the YSRCP ticket, joined the TDP after the demise of TDP’s constituency in-charge Bachula Arjunudu.
Both Mr. Vamsi and Mr. Venkat Rao belong to the dominant Kamma community.
If Mr. Vamsi wins this election, he will be the only candidate to record a hat-trick victory in the constituency’s history.
Although two other leaders, Dasari Balavardhan Rao and Musunur Ratna Bose, won twice, they could not make it a third time. Even Communist stalwart Mr. Sundaraiah had no such record. After he won twice in 1955 and 1962, the CPI(M) fielded M. Suryavati, who lost to Congress candidate Velivela Sitaramaiah. The CPI-M candidate M. Srimannarayana lost in the subsequent 1968 (bye-election) and 1972 elections. Mr. Sundaraiah won for the third time in 1978.
According to the final voter list, the Gannavaram constituency boasts 276,985 electors. This constituency comprises Gannavaram, Bapulapadu, and Unguturu mandals in the Krishna district, along with a portion of the Vijayawada Rural mandal in the NTR district. Notably, nine villages of the Vijayawada Rural mandal played a pivotal role in determining the MLA’s victory.
Out of the total electorate, Vijayawada Rural Mandal holds the largest share with 88,111 votes, making it a significant electoral player within the Gannavaram constituency. Gannavaram Mandal has 73,853 voters, Bapulapadu Mandal has 71,481 voters, and Unguturu mandal has 43,540 voters.
