The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : Kuppam: the TDP's pocket borough

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Wednesday, Apr 21, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

Kuppam: the TDP's pocket borough

A. Devarajan

TIRUPATI

As the campaign for the Chittoor Lok Sabha constituency moves into top gear, all eyes in the Congress are on the Kuppam Assembly segment which has been a constant thorn in its flesh.

The TDP has not lost an election from here since 1983.

Kuppam, the constituency of the TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, since 1989, nestles at the confluence of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Mr. Naidu moved here from the Chandragiri constituency near Tirupati, his home-turf, as he found the going tough.

He won only one election from Chandragiri — in 1978 on the Congress ticket and lost the next election from there. Ironically, his defeat then was at the hands of a TDP candidate.

Mr. Naidu, who has already performed a hat-trick, is running for a fourth term from Kuppam. Going by the huge majority (56,588 votes in 1994 and 65,687 in 1999) with which the voters have elected him since 1989, his victory is not in doubt. He did not visit the place to file his nomination papers and is also not expected for the campaigning. A core team, comprising locals, has been entrusted with the campaign.

The Congress, which first thought of fielding a formidable candidate, has settled for M. Subramanyam Reddy, who lost to Mr. Naidu last time. Mr. Reddy, a farmer, is known as a committed party worker.

He hopes the large-scale irregularities allegedly indulged in by the local TDP cadres and the Government's failure to check the migration of the farmers in the face of an unprecedented drought will turn the tide against the ruling party.

The Congress, at the same time, has no illusions about its prospects. All it hopes to do is bring down Mr. Naidu's victory margin.

It is more worried about the impact of the Kuppam segment on the Chittoor Lok Sabha seat as a whole. In the 1999 Lok Sabha election, the Congress candidate secured a majority of about 50,000 votes over his TDP rival in five of the seven segments. But he still lost because of the 65,000 votes the TDP candidate secured in the Kuppam segment. In 1994, the TDP got 61,000 votes here. The reasons are Mr. Naidu's stature and the Congress' defeatist attitude.

The TDP candidate for the Chittoor Lok Sabha seat, D.K. Audikesavulu, a liquor baron and Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Trust Board should consider himself lucky as the Kuppam segment is expected to see him through.

Interestingly, he lost from here in 1995 while in the Congress. His Congress rival, Ravuri Venkataswamy, a debutant, however, is not ready to throw in the towel yet. He is trying hard to neutralise the Kuppam factor.

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