Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur   

Where NTR is still the star

ANANTAPUR: Hindupur Assembly Constituency in the district stands out in the State with a unique feat after the recent elections! It’s perhaps the only constituency in the State where Telugu Desam Party (TDP) remains undefeated since its inception. Party candidates contested from the seat won every election without any fuss.

What makes the people of Hindupur continue their bond with the party floated by N.T. Rama Rao in 1982?

Well, it’s not the development of the constituency for sure as it struggles with several basic problems till date. It’s the affection of the people for late Rama Rao and his party.

Drinking water has been the distressing problem in Hindupur town for more than two decades and even the late Rama Rao had failed to address the problem, though he represented it thrice including two times as the Chief Minister.

But, the ruling Congress went to the people in the February 2007 municipal elections with the promise that it would resolve the water problem by 2008-end.

The Congress has kept its promise indeed by taking up one of the massive drinking water schemes in Asia on a war-footing and providing water to at least a few areas in the town by 2008-end. But, that did not shore up Congress in the recent elections. The voters of the town showed favour for rebel Congress candidate by polling him majority votes and the official Congress nominee had to contend with poor third with TDP getting second leading votes there.

Perhaps, the voters may find favour with the Congress only after completion of the drinking water project in all respects and provision of water to the industrial estate to spur industrial growth stifled by lack of water.

P. Ranganayakulu won the election for TDP in 1983 and 2004, N.T. Rama Rao in 1985, ’89 and ’94, N. Harikrishna in 1996 by-election and C.C. Venkataramudu in 1999.

In the recent election, P. Abdul Ghani was elected with comfortable majority in spite of his unwillingness as the candidate.

The party had to allot the ticket to a Muslim candidate there due to caste equations in the district. Party sources stated that Mr. Ghani had faxed a letter to NTR Bhavan with a request to allot the ticket to anybody else, after the ticket was announced to him. But, the affection of people for NTR blurred all such discomforts by electing him their legislator for next five years.

Says C. Thimmappa, a retired police officer, who aspired for Praja Rajyam party ticket this time and contested as an independent after the party preferred a TDP leader, “Uuderdevelopment of Hindupur is an ample proof of neglect by every successive legislator. Compared to the development in Kuppam and Pulivendula there’s no development at all in Hindupur, even after it was represented twice by Chief Minister (NTR in 1985 and 1994)”. But, strangely the people still preferred TDP, he exclaimed.

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