Minister Narayana faces acid test in Nellore city

Nellore: Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana is testing his luck in the elections from city constituency for the first time which is a strong bastion for the Congress.

The voters' sympathy towards Congress in the constituency is gradually turning towards the Opposition. The TDP won from the constituency only for once earlier after its formation and interestingly Praja Rajyam candidate also won from the place which indicates typical judgment of voters.

In fact, Municipal Administration Minister Ponguru Narayana has been an educationist and is contesting in direct elections for the first time. He is new to the political arena and by virtue of his close intimacy with the Chief Minister and TDP national president Chandrababu Naidu, he got berth in the ministry. He never participated in any direct election earlier.

The constituency is basically a strong bastion for the Congress and the party candidates won the polls even in the recent elections from 1983 even after Telugu Desam debut in the State politics.

Party candidates K V Subba Reddy in 1984, JK Reddy in 1989, Anam Vivekananda Reddy in 1999, Anam Viveka also won in 2004, and YSR Congress candidate (who was earlier Congress candidate) won polls in 2014. Only in 1994, T Ramesh Reddy from the TDP won the polls and interestingly Praja Rajyam candidate Mungamuru Sridhara Krishna Reddy won 2009 polls.

"Nellore is a typical constituency where people vote traditionally rather than following the current trends which is a major drawback for contestants. Even during wave of the TDP, district voters preferred the Congress party which indicates the voter tendency. Even during 1989 elections also they continued the trend," said a political analyst.

The Telugu Desam had political tie up with the BJP in 1999 and 2004 elections where the party lost the place twice. Former ZP Chairman Dega Narasimha Reddy was candidate in 1999 and state BJP General Secretary Sannapureddy Suresh Reddy was candidate in 2004 polls.

The TDP has been facing difficult situation with strong anti-incumbency for a long time where other parties were benefiting with the situation. In the recently polls in 2014, YSR Congress candidate Dr P Anil Kumar Yadav won the polls where the party had bagged 7 Assembly constituencies and 2 LS seats (Both Nellore and Tirupati).

Gudur legislator P Sunil Kumar from YSR Congress shifted loyalties to the ruling party last year and now the strength is YSRCP 6, TDP 1. Now, Narayana had put his full efforts to showcase development especially in the district headquarters with frequent visits, deploying State-level officials or in-charges for monitoring activities.

Analysts say the ensuing election is an acid test for the Municipal Administration Minister who had spent most of his time for the city development. Swachhandhra Mission vice-chairman Dr CL Venkata Rao and others are stationed here for overseeing various activities.

Charm of Anam family gradually faded out due to various reasons. Viveka passed away and only his brother Ramanarayana is contesting from Venkatagiri on behalf of the Opposition. The family members have been in politics since 1955 elections.