The Amalapuram Lok Sabha constituency of Konaseema district has raised the interest of the electorate and is the most keenly watched with late GMC Balayogi’s son Harish Mathur to lock horns with YCP candidate Rapaka Varaprasada Rao.
There is buzz that Mathur has an edge over Rapaka in the SC Reserved category as the electorate knows Balayogi as a fatherly figure in Konaseema. Few internal reports from TDP suggesting that Harish may win with not less than 2 lakh majority.
Though over 25 years had passed since Balayogi’s untimely demise in a chopper crash, the people in Konaseema still remember how Balayogi spurred development at jet speed in Konaseema when he was the Speaker in the Lok Sabha.
Balayogi had been instrumental in developing the Yanam-Vedurlanka bridge which provides direct road link, cutting short the distance from Kakinada to Amalapuram by 70 kms from 120 kms, beside providing road network and electrical installations in Konaseema.
He also organized relief and medical camps when for the poor and affected during floods in East Godavari district. He also tried to improve the transport and communication facilities.
Since the demise of Balayogi, there has been no significant development works taken up in the region. His son Harish Mathur forayed into politics in 2019 but suffered a defeat but this time, it is advantage Mathur as Rapaka is only known in the Razole Assembly constituency while Mathur’s father is a name to reckon with in the entire Konaseema region.
In the wake of his father’s service to the electorate of Konaseema region, the TDP cadre predicts a strong sympathy factor would result 3-lakh majority to Harish in the general elections.
Tags Balayogi Harish Harish Mathur