Will YSRCP continue to reign supreme over Araku LS seat?

Araku Lok Sabha constituency sees YSRCP aiming for a hat-trick victory, while BJP faces opposition from tribal groups.

Established after the delimitation exercise in 2008, the Araku Lok Sabha constituency has been a stronghold of the YSRCP if the results of the elections held so far are of any indication. With back-to-back victories in the 2014 and 2019 elections, the ruling YSRCP has set its sights on a hat-trick victory in the ST-reserved constituency.

On the other hand, the BJP, which has been allotted the seat as a part of the seat-sharing agreement with the TDP and the JSP, seems to make every effort to see that the saffron flag flies high in the constituency.

The Konda Dora tribe’s population, the majority of whom are Christians, is larger than that of the other tribes in the area. They are likely to work against the BJP, and this factor might be an advantage to the YSRCP.

The YSRCP giving its ticket to Tanuja Rani instead of the sitting MP also does not seem to lead to much bickering in the party cadres there.

“The BJP is targeting the Bhagatha, Kotia, and Nooka Dora tribes, which do not consume beef. The Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, an affiliate of RSS, has already organised spiritual trips to Ram Janmabhoomi and Simhachalam temple in Visakhapatnam for the members of the above-mentioned Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), arranging free transport, food, and accommodation for them,” says Umamaheswara Rao of Araku Valley.

The ASR district unit of the A.P. Adivasi Joint Action Committee is opposing former MP Kothapalli Geetha’s candidature as the BJP’s nominee for the Araku Lok Sabha seat. The committee sent a letter to the BJP leadership opposing her nomination.

In his letter to BJP president J.P. Nadda on March 13, the JAC district convener Rama Rao Dora drew attention to Ms. Geetha and her husband P. Rama Koteswara Rao’s alleged involvement in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case of 2015. He also alleged that Ms. Geetha does not belong to an Adivasi tribe and has claimed bogus caste status.