Mangalagiri, Vijayawada: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu retained his bastion Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh with a margin of 48,006 votes over his nearest rival from the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP).
Naidu, expected to take oath as chief minister for the fourth time in a few days, also improved his poll percentage to 60 percent this time.
With the latest victory, the TDP chief won from Kuppam for eight straight times, becoming a nine-term MLA.
At 74, Naidu — spearheading the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance fight against Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy — was seen making a concerted effort to maintain his stronghold in the Kuppam seat.
This election cycle, Jagan’s goal to win all 175 assembly seats included a pointed challenge to Naidu’s territory with the slogan, ‘Why not Kuppam?’ However, in a shocking defeat, YSRCP collapsed to just 11 seats, down from 151 last time.
Naidu has represented Kuppam as a TDP MLA since 1989. His debut as an MLA was from the Congress in Chandragiri near Tirupati in 1978.
Kuppam is the remotest segment lying at the tri-junction of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. This predominantly rural area, which appears as a tail on the political map of Andhra Pradesh, is also the last numbered segment, 175, on the assembly seats’ list.
Located 600 km from Amaravati, Kuppam is closer to major cities like Bengaluru, just 100 km away, and Chennai, 250 km away. Even the district headquarters, Chittoor, is 120 km distant, making Bengaluru the go-to place for locals seeking employment, higher education, and healthcare.
Despite comfortably winning Kuppam for over three decades, Naidu saw his vote share decrease to 55 percent in 2019. Former IAS officer and YSRCP contestant K. Chandramouli managed to grab a 34 percent vote share — reducing Naidu’s victory margin significantly.
In the 2021 panchayat, local body and civic polls as well, the ruling YSRCP managed to show dominance in Naidu’s pocket borough — even wresting the Kuppam municipality from the TDP.
“Democracy was defeated in Kuppam, not me. I have been associated with Kuppam for 35 years and am considered a family member by the people there,” Naidu then told reporters, while accusing YSRCP of distributing inducement money for votes and disturbing the peace and tranquility of the constituency.
Following the panchayat losses in early 2021, Naidu and his son, former minister Nara Lokesh, visited Kuppam to boost party morale before the municipal polls in November 2021, but to no avail.
After the defeats, the YSRCP leaders taunted the TDP chief, with senior leader and minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy suggesting that Naidu “should start pondering about contesting from another constituency or leave politics altogether.”
Naidu, who typically delegated campaign responsibilities to local leaders, made a personal appearance in Kuppam this time, holding a poll rally and public meetings, while his wife Nara Bhuvaneswari conducted roadshows and door-to-door visits to garner support.
Meanwhile, Jagan nominated 34-year-old K.R.J. Bharath, son of retired bureaucrat late K. Chandramouli, to challenge Naidu. Vowing to elevate Kuppam to the level of his own constituency Pulivendula, the CM appointed Bharath as an MLC and, in 2022, pledged to make the backward caste (BC) community leader a minister if elected.
During a February visit to Kuppam to inaugurate an irrigation project, Jagan even accused Naidu of betraying the backward castes, urging locals to elect BC leader Bharath over the Kamma leader.
Kuppam, with a total of 2,25,775 registered voters, recorded a voting percentage of 89.88 on 13 May, according to the Election Commission of India.
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