Kadiri constituency in Anantapur district is a Congress stronghold since 1952. TDP broke it in the first election after its inception.
In the eight elections that happened since TDP’s inception, the Cycle party won three times while its alliance partner BJP won in 1999. YSR Congress won the constituency twice after the party formation.
In 2019, Dr. Pedaballi Venkata Sidda Reddy won the election with a thumping 27K votes majority. But then, things changed drastically.
Sidda Reddy has completely disappeared from the constituency after the elections. Most areas in the constituency don’t have basic amenities like roads, drinking water, etc.
Sidda Reddy did not participate actively in the Gadapa Gadapaku program initially but reluctantly started the program after pressure from the Party High Command. Even in Gadapa Gadapaku, he has been facing heat from the locals.
Local YSR Congress leaders say this will be the first constituency to lose if the party does not change the candidate.
But then, things are not very bright in TDP as well. Chandrababu Naidu is yet to decide on the candidate between Senior leader Kandikunta Venkata Prasad and former MLA Attar Chand Basha.
Kandikunta is a grassroots leader and has got very strong support in the cadre. Kandikunta is a better candidate than Chand Basha but Minority voters are crucial in the Kadiri constituency. So, Chandrababu is delaying things.
But the same confusion cost big time TDP in 2019. But no lessons learned.
