Reviving Congress in Nellore to be Herculean task for Sharmila

Nellore : Bringing back past glory to Congress in Nellore districts will be a Herculean task to new Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee(APCC) president Y S Sharmila.

She is making maiden visit Nellore after assuming office as new APCC chief on Saturday, January 27. According to sources, she is planning to fill the vacuum in the party in the district by convincing senior leaders of the party to return to party fold.

District Congress Committee (DCC) president Chevuru Devakumar Reddy said Sharmila will enter the district by road at around 3.50 pm on Saturday from Prakasam district. She will address the party functionaries at Indira Bhavan in the city, later likely to interact with party senior leaders personally.

After state bifurcation, Congress Party has almost become extinct in the district as several traditionally Congress families like Anam, Mekapati, Magunta and Neduramalli deserted it for YSR Congress Party during 2014 and 2019 elections.

In 2004, the party bagged nine out of 10 Assembly seats in 2004, and six seats, i.e. Atmakuru, Nellore Rural, Nellore City, Sarvepalli, Udayagiei, Venkatagiri and Nellore MP seat in 2009 elections.

After division of the state, that party’s condition has become pathetic as it has lost all Assembly seats in 2014 and 2019 elections.

Interestingly, Congress which ruled the roost during YS Rajasekhara Reddy rule was not even able to find candidates after the state division.

In both 2014 and 2019 elections, the party’s vote share has drastically come down and its candidate could not get more than 2,500 votes in both elections as YSRCP snatched away its vote bank.

Except Atmakuru and Guduru Assembly constituencies, the party got less than NOTA votes in the district as it had almost disappeared in the district.

Anam Ramanarayana Reddy who contested from Atmakuru Assembly seat in 2009 was elected by securing 72,907 votes with 51.97 vote share and majority of 18,644 votes against TDP, tasted bitter defeat when he contested on Congress ticket from same seat in 2014 elections.

Interestingly, Ramanarayana Reddy developed Atmakuru spending Rs 800 crore and made it a revenue division when he was finance minister in 2009 during Rajasekhara Reddy government. In 2014, he fell to third place after TDP by just securing 8,027 votes with voting share of 5.45 per cent.

In that elections, TDP nominee Guruturu Kanna Babu won with 60,288 votes. Later, Ramanarayana Reddy joined YSRCP after two years in TDP and got elected from Venkatagiri seat in 2019 elections. Now he is in TDP. His sister-in-law Anam Arunamamma is zilla parishad chairman from YSRCP.

In Mekapati family, Rajamohan Reddy is in YSRCP and his son Mekapati Vikram Reddy is MLA of Atmakuru while Magunta family which is now in YSRCP, is unlikely to stick to it in view of denial of Ongole ticket to Srinivasulu Reddy.

Now there are very few families and leaders like Chevuru Devakumar Reddy, C V Sesha Reddy and some second-rung cadres left in the Congress in the district. When contacted by Hans India, District Congress Committee president Chevuru Devakumar Reddy hoped that his party would regain its past glory under leadership of new PCC chief Sharmila.