Visakhapatnam: Pendurthi saw no repetition of MLAs

Visakhapatnam : Pendurthi is one of the largest constituencies in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. However, post the district rejig exercise, the vast constituency has been divided into three parts. As a result, part of Pendurthi is being merged with Gajuwaka and west constituencies.

Currently, the constituency is a hub for agriculture, mining and industries. One of the salient features of the constituency is that no candidate has been elected as an MLA for the second time as locals preferred a new candidate each time. Another key feature is the contribution of father P Appalanarasimham and his son PGVR Naidu belonging to TDP as MLAs.

So far, 11 candidates have served as MLAs in the segment. In 1978, Gudivada Appanna from Congress won the election. During the 1980 by-polls, Dronamraju Satyanarayana from the same party emerged victorious. Later, P Appalanarasimham, Alla Rama Chandra Rao, Gudivada Gurunadha Rao, M Anjaneyulu, PGVR Naidu, Tippala Gurumurthy Reddy, Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy, Annamreddy Adeep Raj won in the segment in subsequent polls.

At present, Pedagantyada, Parawada, Sabbavaram and Pendurthi mandal fall under the segment’s purview.

Mining and quarrying are carried out extensively in Parawada, Sabbavaram and Pendurthi mandal. Along with it, people are largely dependent on its allied sectors, including transport, for livelihood.

Thousands of people are employed in the popular Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City, the first industrial township, located in Parawada. A number of multinational pharma companies commenced their operations in the premises.

At Sabbavaram, a large extent of land is used for agricultural purpose. Most of the local crops arrive in rythu bazaars from Sabbavaram. The coveted institution Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy fall under the precincts of Sabbavaram mandal.

With the initiation of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project, the segment witnessed rapid development.

According to electoral data, there are 2,68,532 voters in the constituency in 2019. Of them, 1,34,664 voters were male, 1,33,865 were women voters. In 2009, Panchakarla Ramesh Babu won the seat from Praja Rajyam Party ticket. His opponents were Gandi Babji from Congress, Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy from TDP. However, Ramesh Babu won with a majority of 3,272 votes as an MLA for the first time. In 2014, Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy from TDP won against Gandi Babji from the YSRCP with a majority of 18,648 votes.

The poll battle was among Annamreddy Adeep Raj from the YSRCP, Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy from the TDP and Chintalapudi Venkataramaiah from the JSP in 2019. However, with 28,860 majority of votes, Adeep Raj emerged victorious.