Vemuru(SC Reserved) is one of the key reserved constituencies in Andhra Pradesh. Over the years, it has been a stronghold for the Telugu Desam Party as 6 out of the last 9 elections were polled in favor of TDP here. The only hiccup in recent years for TDP came in 2019 when the party’s trusted candidate Nakka Anand Babu lost for the first time after having won from here in 2009 and 14.
However, if we come to 2024, the situation has completely changed. Jagan Mohan Reddy rejected the ticket to sitting MLA Merugu Nagarjuna who anyway didn’t have much going his way in the election and replaced him with Varikuti Ashok Babu.
The ground-level report is that Merugu Nagarjuna could have at least competed with Nakka Anand Babu but the new candidate Ashok is no match to the TDP veteran. The electoral trends suggest that the discussion is only about Nakka Anand Babu’s victory and not about whether or not he will win the election.
Despite the loss in 2019, Nakka Anand Babu reportedly kept himself accessible to the local cadres and was in touch with the common public which has helped him gain a positive upswing before the 2024 polls. But this a word-of-mouth verdict for now and we have to wait till June 4th to see how things actually turn out, though Nakka Anand Babu is the firm favorite for now.