Ground Report: Paderu- Balaraju trails, tight fight between YSRC & CPI candidates

By SNV Sudhir

 Visakhapatnam, May 3, 2014: While, the voting across the 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh in the upcoming polls is based on issues related to state bifurcation and rebuilding of the new state, voters in Paderu Assembly segment weave a different story.

Local issues and strong caste lines among the tribals are the factors that have always influenced electorate in this Assembly segment of Vizag Agency reserved for STs. This time too local factors are set to decide the fate of contestants of various political parties.

 One of the two prominent faces that remained in Congress in the district after so many leaders quit the party, former tribal welfare minister P Balaraju, who is again the Congress candidate seems to have been pushed to the third place in the contest. Balaraju, in 2009 polls, won with a wafer thin majority of just 587 votes, against the then CPI nominee G Demudu.    

Surprisingly, in Paderu, it is going to be a tight fight between, CPI candidate, former MLA, G Demudu and YSRC nominee, Giddi Eswari, a political novice, who had recently resigned as a school assistant of a government upper primary school.

An NRI and IIT Chennai educated, Lokula Gandhi is also in the fray on a BJP ticket, but he too seems to be trailing due to the non cooperation of TD cadres. As part of poll alliance between TD and BJP, Paderu assembly seat had gone to the saffron party.

While, Eswari, comes from Bagatha, a dominant community and having more voters in Paderu, Demudu, belongs to Konda Dora, community that falls in the second place as per numbers.

Both Balaraju and Gandhi belong to Valmiki community whose number is less compared to other two groups.  The voting pattern in the past elections suggests that, voters belonging to one community do not vote to the candidate from the other community.  In this scenario, non tribals always played crucial role in deciding the fate of the contestants.

In 2009, polls, non tribals, ensured Balaraju’s win. This time non tribals said to have decided to vote enmasse to the YSRC nominee. Armed with support of Bagatha voters and non tribals, Giddi Eswari, has got fair chances of wining Paderu seat.

However, Balaraju, seems to be confident on his winning chances. He claimed credit for successfully stopping the proposed bauxite mining, a local emotive issue and added that his efforts in this regard and many other development programmes taken up by him when he was minister will bail him out. He was confident of emerging triumphant in the contest.

There are around 2, 35, 677 voters in Paderu segment.