The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : NJR, Murthi hit hard by cadre discontent

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 11, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

NJR, Murthi hit hard by cadre discontent

By R. Sampath

VISAKHAPATNAM, APRIL 10. A significant feature of Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency is that it has mostly chosen Opposition candidates in all the general and two mid-term elections held so far, except in 1962 and 1980 when Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram and K.A. Swamy were elected from the ruling party (Congress).

The seat has the distinction of having been represented by eminent persons like Lanka Sundaram (1952), P.V.G. Raju (1957 and 1971), Tenneti Viswanatham (1967) -- all Independents. M.V.V.S. Murthi of the Telugu Desam Party was a member of both 10th and the 13th Lok Sabhas. In the 1999 poll, Dr. Murthi defeated the two-time Congress member, T. Subbarami Reddy, by 39,000 votes, with the TDP winning in six of the seven Assembly segments -- Visakha-II, Pendurthy, Bheemunipatnam, Bhogapuram, Uttarapalli and S. Kota (ST), and its ally, Bharatiya Janata Party, romping home in Visakha-I.

The Congress has fielded the former Chief Minister, Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy, this time.

Since his native Nellore constituency has been reserved for Scheduled Castes, Mr. Reddy chose to contest election from Bapatla in 1998 and Narasaraopet in 1999. Shifting of the seat by Mr. Reddy from election to election has become a bone of contention and his rivals have branded him `an outsider.'

But Mr. Reddy brushes aside the remark, saying: "I have been Chief Minister and so the entire State is my constituency. Further, the party high command has instructed me to move to Vizag and so I am here.'' The Congress candidate recalls how, as Chief Minister, he had implemented the remote area development programme in the agency areas of Vizag for the benefit of unemployed Girijan youth. He accuses the TDP Government of neglecting the development of Uttarandhra. Asked what plan he has for the region, he says: "The region's backwardness can be eliminated by developing Visakhapatnam as the pivot.

The ruling party has been concentrating more on Hyderabad than on this beautiful city." Dr. Murthi rebuts this argument and says that the TDP has prepared the ground for several projects like Pharma City and Apparel Park, besides making it the second hi-tech city of the State.

When these projects materialise, they would provide thousands of jobs to youngsters. But the TDP nominee has to ward off the presence of a rebel TDP candidate, Bharanikana Rama Rao, who has announced that he would ensure the defeat of the former. Mr. Rama Rao feels that the ticket has been denied to him at the instance of Dr. Murthi. How much he would cut into the TDP vote bank remains to be seen.

Similarly, the denial of ticket to the former Pendurthy MLA, P.G.V.R. Naidu a.k.a. Ganababu, has enraged the former and his father and former MP, Pedakamseti Appalanarasimham, who can give some tough moments for Dr. Murthi.

One disadvantage for the Congress is the seething discontent in party activists over the choice of candidates for the three major city segments of the constituency ignoring the local aspirants and caste equations. Yadavas, Kapus, Vysyas, fishermen and Muslims in the three segments are sulking. There are seven candidates in the ring, one each of the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Pyramid Party, the rest Independents.

The total electorate is a little over 1.5 million. Women voters outnumber men by 12,298. Barring Visakha-II, in all the other six segments there are more women. The constituency has a substantial urban spread (9.57 lakh voters), having within its limits the Vizag Municipal Coprporation and the municipalities of Gajuwaka and Bheemunipatnam.

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