Nuzvid bracing for poll battle between 2 veterans

Vijayawada: Nuzvid Assembly constituency in erstwhile Krishna district is bracing for a mega political battle in the ensuing Assembly elections.

The YSRCP leader and three-times MLA Meka Venkata Pratap Apparao is likely to contest the polls again. He may face the senior political leader and former minister Kolusu Parthasarathy, who recently quit the YSRCP and is likely to join TDP. Though the TDP officially did not announce Parthasarathy’s name, the senior politician has been camping in Nuzvid for the past few days and regularly meeting the TDP cadres seeking the support to contest the polls.

YSRCP leader Meka Venkata Pratap Apparao has been elected three times to the Assembly in 2004, 2014 and 2019 from Nuzvid seat. Meka dynasty belongs to Velama caste and hails from Zamindars’ family.

Meka dynasty dominated the politics in Nuzvid region and enjoying the support of voters for over six decades. Meka Rangaiah Apparao was the MLA of Nuzvid from 1952 to 1972 and was elected five times consecutively.

The YSRCP has not changed the in-charge of the Nuzvid constituency till now. It is expected Venkata Pratap may contest the polls in 2024 too. On the other hand, the TDP is expected to field Kolusu Parthasarathy.

Parthasarathy belongs to Yadava caste, who are in vast numbers in Nuzvid Assembly constituency. Kapu, Yadava and Dalit voters constitute major portion of electorate. Muslims, Arya Vysyas and Velama voters also play important role in deciding the fate of candidates.

Nuzvid is well known for Banginapalli mangoes and horticulture crops. The constituency has both urban and rural voters. The voters had previously elected the leaders from Kamma, Velama, BC and Arya Vysya castes. MLAs were elected from Congress, TDP, Praja Rajyam and YSRCP.

TDP Nuzvid in-charge Muddaraboina Venkateswara Rao contested in 2014 and 2019. He lost both occasions to YSRCP.

The TDP leadership seems to have decided not to field Venkateswara Rao this time. Unhappy with the decision of the party leadership he wants to meet the TDP leaders and ask for one more chance to contest the polls.

Parthasarathy and Venkateswara Rao are known to each other for a long time and both belong to the same Yadava community.

The YSRCP has the advantage of fielding the local candidate. The TDP may not get the advantage because Parthasarathy hails from Vuyyur. The Vuyyur constituency was abolished in 2008. Parthasarathy has been elected from Penamaluru in 2019 and he recently quit the YSRCP.

If the Nuzvid voters prefer the local candidate and reject the non-local candidate, then the TDP may have lesser chances to win the contest.

Parthasarathy is a senior politician and former minister in Congress government. He is a good strategist and knew the art of winning the elections. He previously won from Vuyyur and Penamaluru constituencies. For now, the two senior leaders, Pratap Appa Rao and Parthasarathy, are eagerly waiting for the official announcement of their candidature to contest the polls.