VIJAYAWADA: Polavaram Irrigation project, the Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) package for the project-displaced families, and Chintalapudi Lift Irrigation will be the main issues that will be on the minds of the electorate in the Eluru Lok Sabha constituency, when they exercise their franchise on May 13.
Formed in 1952, Eluru Parliamentary constituency was spread across the erstwhile Krishna and West Godavari districts before the reorganisation. Later, it was formed as a district with seven Assembly segments—Ungaturu, Denduluru, Eluru, Polavaram, Chintalapudi, Nuzvid and Kaikaluru.
Of the seven Assembly segments, Polavaram is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) while Chintalapudi is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Out of the seven Assembly constituencies, only three are urban local bodies.
With agriculture and horticulture as the mainstay of the economy, the Parliamentary constituency has people belonging to Kapu, Kamma, and Backward classes like Yadavs, SCs, and STs in considerable numbers. However, BC and OC voters have been dictating the outcome of the elections for the past several decades.
“Though there are several issues in this important Lok Sabha segment, three main issues—Polavaram Project, R&R settlement package, infrastructure, mainly road network—top the list. Every year floods in Godavari affect the infrastructure, particularly in Polavaram Assembly segments,” explained Satyanarayana, a businessman in Jangareddygudem.
Polavaram is one of the important issues on the poll agenda of all the political parties in the fray in Andhra Pradesh. Jana Sena, which is fielding its candidate C Balaraju from the Polavaram Assembly constituency, proposed a new cess, R&R Cess, to fund the R&R Package for the Project Displacement Families, which is estimated to require approximately Rs 30,000 crore.
TDP, an ally of JSP, is assuring early completion of the project and addressing the issues of the project displaced, while the YSRC party is largely silent on the issue, except for its assurance to complete the project at the earliest.
