Pulivendula: Where YSR Family Holds Sway

Pulivendula Assembly constituency comes under the YSR Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. According to ancient folklore, its name is derived from "Puli Mandala", which was originally a forested area populated by tigers. But now that is now a thing of the past.

It is among the 10 constituencies in the district and is currently represented by the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who is the Leader of Opposition in AP assembly and President of the YSR Congress Party.

As per the estimates of 2011 census, out of total 2,87,374 population 77.14% is rural and 22.86% is urban. The Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes ratio is 13.75 and 2.61, respectively out of the total population.

As per the voter list of 2018, there are 1,97,520 voters in the electorate here and 278 polling stations in this constituency. Voter turnout in the 2014 assembly election was 80.57% where as it was 79.79% in 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.

Pulivendula which gained popularity as a stronghold of late Chief Minister Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy's family, has continued to remain with the YSR family. Since 1978 the YSR family has been representing the Pulivendula Constituency, and Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy himself was elected for six terms unopposed from this constituency.

After the tragic death of Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy who was still in office, his wife YS Vijaya Lakshmi ( YS Vijayamma) stood for by elections and was elected unopposed in the 2009 elections.

There were many twists and turns after this and the YSR family was put through undue hardships by the then ruling Congress party. Sidelining YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, not allowing him to connect with the people of Andhra Pradesh which was still trying to cope with Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy 's death. He wanted to meet the families of those who committed suicide upon hearing the news of his father's death. But the Congress disallowed him to conduct the "Odarpu Yatra" . YS Jagan after failing to convince the Congress leadership, defied the party high command diktat and went ahead with the Yatra. After a series of political developments the YSR family, and their followers resigned from the Congress membership. YS Jagan started the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party in 2010. Bye-elections to the Pulivendula MLA constituency were held in 2011 and YS Vijayamma won the elections with a thumping majority.

YS Jagan, who was an MP from Kadapa decided to enter the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections in 2014. He secured the highest majority in the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections defeating his TDP rival S.V. Satish Kumar Reddy by a margin of 75,243 votes. This was the highest among all the 175 seats in Andhra Pradesh assembly.

Once considered a hotbed of faction politics Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy put an end to violent factionism in the region and turned the constituency to a fertile and economically strong area. He also oversaw the implementation of a host of welfare schemes and development projects in the area.

YS Jagan's uncle and Dr YS Rajasekara Reddy's brother YS Vivekananda Reddy a former YSRCP leader was brutally murdered last week in the intervening night of Thursday-Friday, March 14-15, forcing the YSRCP chief to meet the AP Governor and seek a CBI probe .

Also Read: Who’s Behind YS Vivekananda Reddy’s Murder?

Despite the unfortunate incident, it is clear that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy would win the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections this 2019 as well.

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