How Favourable Are Conditions To Balakrishna In Hindupur?

Nandamuri Balakrishna is in the race from the Hindupur seat for the third time. People also see Hindupur as Nandamuripuram. There is a reason for this. TDP founder Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao won the elections from Hindupur for the first time in 1985 and in 1989 and again in 1994. He won thrice. He was the Hindupur MLA for 11 years and played a big role as the CM and opposition leader.

After his demise, his son Nandamuri Harikrishna won the Hindupur seat in the 1996 by elections and was the MLA for around three and a half years until 1999. Nandamuri Balakrishna who faced his first elections in 2014 won the seat with a majority of 16,000 votes. Even in the Jagan wave, his majority increased by a thousand in 2019.

Cut to 2024, Balakrishna wants to create a record as a hattrick MLA. What happens in Hindupur this time is a big discussion now. After the 1983 elections. No party had managed to win the seat except for TDP. Nine elections were held so far and TDP emerged victorious all the time. Out of nine times, Anna NTR won thrice, his elder son Harikrishna won once and Balakrishna won twice. The Nandamuri family ruled the seat for around 25 years.

Even now there are positive signals for Balakrishna. The trend says that there is no competition for Balakrishna. Despite YCP looking strong, the infighting is making it weak. Naveen Nischal contested the seat in 2014 and he did not get the ticket in 2019. Mohammed Iqbal was the YCP candidate from Hindupur in 2019. As he did not get the ticket this time, he resigned from the MLC post and joined the TDP.

Deepika is the YCP candidate this time. The BC card might work for her is what the YCP is thinking. But the leaders are unhappy over her candidacy. She doesn't even have support from the party. On the other hand, Naveen Nischal, former MLA Abdul Ghani, and other leaders are said to be lacking coordination.

The observers say that the in-fighting in YCP might benefit Balakrishna. This is the seat in Anantapur district where TDP will win for sure. The estimation is that Balakrishna’s vote margin will be more than 17,000 and it would not be a surprise if the number exceeds further. On the flip side, there is an opinion that a few leaders in YCP are indirectly supporting Balakrishna.

Going for experiments in candidate selection every time is said to be the main reason for the defeats. Many say that Balakrishna will enter the Assembly as an MLA for the third time. Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy took responsibility for YCP’s win in Hindupur. But he is busy with a lot of work. It is said that there is no coordination in the YCP and hence the efforts are put in for the namesake.

There is an opinion that the Nandamuri hero might become a political hero in Hindupur again. The conditions are favorable for him. If Balakrishna wins the elections this time then he can match his father’s record of three election wins in Hindupur. With this, Balakrishna becomes the only second candidate to have recorded three wins in Hindupur after Anna NTR. Looking at the history of Hindupur no candidate had won twice except for NTR and his scion Balakrishna.