YSR Congress party struggles in key constituencies
The YSR Congress has faced tough battles in the Vijayawada and Guntur Lok Sabha segments over three general elections—2014, 2019, and 2024. Despite a strong wave of support for Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in 2019, the party failed to secure these seats, which remain strongholds of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) largely due to the influence of the Kamma community.
In the recent elections, Kesineni Nani, who ran as the YSR Congress candidate in Vijayawada, retired from politics. Similarly, Kilaru Venkata Rosaiah, the candidate for Guntur, resigned from the party’s primary membership. These developments have left the YSR Congress without effective leadership in both constituencies.
The dominance of the Kamma community in Vijayawada and Guntur has traditionally bolstered the TDP’s position. However, this does not mean these seats are impregnable. In the past, when it was a contest between TDP and Congress, the Congress Party managed to secure victories in these regions several times. For instance, the Congress won the Vijayawada Parliament seat four times out of eleven elections, and the Guntur seat six times.
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The YSR Congress has struggled here for several reasons. One significant factor is Jagan Mohan Reddy’s strained relations with the Kamma community. Unlike his father, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR), who included prominent Kamma leaders in his administration, Jagan has notably excluded them from his cabinet. This exclusion has alienated the Kamma community, which once had considerable representation in the Congress Party, including leaders like Parvathaneni Upendra, Lagadapati Rajagopal, and others.
Moreover, the YSR Congress has relied on parachute candidates—individuals brought in just before elections without deep roots in the constituencies. For example, in Vijayawada, Koneru Rajendra Prasad, PVP, and Kesineni Nani were fielded in recent elections, while in Guntur, Vallabhaneni Balashowry, Modugula Venugopala Reddy, and Kilari Venkata Rosaiah were the candidates. After their electoral defeats, these candidates have not remained active, leading to a leadership vacuum in these areas.
Recently, Vijayawada and Guntur have been without strong YSR Congress leadership again, and Jagan is unlikely to address this issue until just before the 2029 elections. Meanwhile, caste-based tensions continue to surface. For instance, Vijayasai Reddy has recently been criticized by Y. Rajiv Krishna, a former advisor in the Jagan government, for making caste-based comments against the Kamma community. These comments have caused discomfort among Kamma members of the YSR Congress highlighting the ongoing internal challenges the party faces in securing these crucial segments.
