The battle runs within the family in the Araku Lok Sabha constituency, spread over 450 kilometres and second only to Jaisalmer is geographical spread, in Andhra Pradesh. Telugu Desam Party candidate V. Kishore Chandra Deo, a six-time MP and former Union Minister, is pitted against his daughter V. Shruti Devi, who has been fielded by the Congress, the party he left only last month. The other challenger is G. Madhavi of the YSR Congress Party. Both women are first-time contestants.
The constituency, reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, has several areas bordering Odisha where Left-wing extremists hold sway. Of the 2,035 polling stations, 801 have been identified as sensitive. The Assembly segments are Palakonda (Srikakulam district); Kurupam, Parvathipuram and Salur (Vizianagaram); Rampachodavaram (East Godavari); and Araku Valley and Paderu (Visakhapatnam district).
Mr. Deo’s move to the TDP has set off a major change in the constituency, known as a bastion of the YSRCP, which won all segments bar Parvathipuram in 2014. Mr. Deo, who is from the erstwhile Kurupam royal family, is giving a tought fight, given his clean image and familiarity with the area.
Next-gen contenders
Ms. Shruti, an advocate and social activist, says she had decided to contest on Congress ticket even before her father had defected to the TDP. Ms. Madhavi, a physical education teacher and daughter of the late Goddeti Demudu, two-time CPI MLA from Chintapalle, again is no stranger to political struggles.
The sitting MP, Kothapalli Geetha, who won on YSRCP ticket in 2014, worked closely with the TDP after the election. She recently formed her own party and is contesting the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha seat.
The constituency has a population of 21 lakh, of which the Scheduled Tribes come to 57%. The number of voters is around 14 lakh. Konda Dora, Bhagata and Valmiki are the dominant tribes in the region. All the three main candidates are from the Konda Dora tribe. While there is rivalry among three main tribes, the Kondhs, who belong to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, are regrouping to pose a formidable challenge to them.
The constituency was formed in 2008 after delimitation by retaining most parts of Parvathipuram. The first election was held in 2009 when Mr. Deo, as the Congress candidate, defeated Midiyam Babu Rao of the CPI(M) by a huge margin of 1.92 lakh. In 2014, in the face of the anti-bifurcation wave, Mr. Deo was relegated to the third position with 52,884 votes. Ms. Geetha beat her nearest rival, Gummadi Sandhyarani, of the TDP by 91,398 votes.
Campaigning of all the three main candidates has been low-key. The election is being held amid tight security following the gunning down of Araku MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao (TDP) and former MLA S. Soma near Araku last year. Drinking water supply, poor road connectivity, lack of healthcare and educational facilities and poor job opportunities are being highlighted by the candidates.
Mr. Deo, who does not believe in making promises, says, “I have remained in national politics for over four decades and my decision to join the TDP is to fight against the dictatorial style of the functioning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
He said he was not new to the TDP as he had a close association with the National Front and the United Front coalition leaders, especially N.T. Rama Rao and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
“I played a key role in putting on hold bauxite mining clearances when I was Minister for Tribal Welfare and Panchayat Raj in the UPA-II government. Mr. Naidu did the right thing in cancelling the government orders allotting mining leases after becoming Chief Minister in 2014,” Mr. Deo says.