Undefeated Kapu leaders to clash for Bheeminupatnam MLA seat

Bheemunipatnam Assembly constituency in Visakhapatnam gears up for a high-stakes election battle between senior politicians.

With around 3.60 lakh voters, Bheemunipatnam is one of the biggest Assembly constituencies in North Andhra districts. The political heat, already high with senior politicians Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao (YSRCP) and Ganta Srinivasa Rao (TDP) undertaking hectic campaigns, is all set to rise by several notches as the poll date nears. The contest is a keen watch because both candidates have never lost an election in the past two decades.

Bheemunipatnam is the only Assembly constituency in the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha segment with the demographic profile of rural and urban voters. It has three rural mandals and eight urban wards. While 2.50 lakh voters are from urban areas, around 1.10 lakh are from rural areas.

Bheemunipatnam Assembly constituency was established during the year 2009 due to delimitation orders. Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao won in the 2009 elections from the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP). In the 2014 elections, Ganta Srinivasa Rao contested from this constituency as a TDP candidate and won with a good majority. He later became Education Minister. During the 2014 elections, Muttamsetti contested as Anakapalli MP from the TDP and won.

During the year 2019, Muttamsetti parted ways with the TDP and joined the YSRCP. He was offered the Bheemunipatnam ticket again. He locked horns with senior politician Sabbam Hari and won with over 9,000 votes majority. This 2024 election is the third time for Muttamsetti and the second time for Ganta Srinivasa Rao to contest from Bheemunipatnam.

Both hailing from the powerful Kapu community, Ganta and Muttamsetti depend largely on the Kapu votes, which is said to be at least 25 % of the total 3.60 lakh voters. Besides, both these senior politicians have a very strong grip on the grassroots level.

In fact, Ganta Srinivasa Rao started his campaign in Annavaram village, where he gained a huge majority during the 2014 elections. The former Education Minister has set a target to gain the majority in all the wards for which he has been extensively campaigning. Panchakarla Sandeep, Bheemunipatnam JSP in-charge and Korada Raja Babu, Bheemunipatnam TDP incharge, have extended their complete support, while TDP MP candidate M. Sribharat is also actively endorsing vote for the alliance.

Being a two-time MLA from the region, Muttamsetti holds a firm grip on the constituency and has strengthened the cadre. In the name of ‘Gadapa Gadapa Ki Mana Prabhutvam’, he has been actively involved in public programmes for the last year. Muttamsetti’s daughter is a corporator of Ward 6 in Madhurwada, which is said to be one of the biggest wards in the GVMC.