Madanapalle is the standard spelling, but the signboard says ...

Madanapalle is an Assembly constituency and part of Rajampeta parliamentary constituency but falls in Chittoor district. Since 1952 to 2019, the constituency elected members to the state legislature from the Communist Party of India (CPI), Congress, Telugu Desam, and YSR Congress – Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party.

Madanapalle is a general, or unreserved, constituency of the Andhra Pradesh state legislature. In 2019 Assembly elections (Vidhan Sabha), held along with the General Elections, Mohammed Nawaz Basha of YSR Congress secured 51% votes, and his runner up was Dommalapati Ramesh who secured 34% votes. Jana Sena was represented by Swathi Gangarapu who secured 8% of the votes (14,601 votes) and INC or Congress’ candidate D. Mohana Rami Reddy who secured 1.50% votes (2693 votes).

The unreserved constituency is a semi-urban constituency. It has 2,46,132 voters (Male: 1,21,947, Female: 1,24,125, Third Gender: 60). Madanapalle recorded a voter turnout of 73.36% in 2019, and in 2014 it was 70.09%, and in 2009 it was  62.46%.

In the 2014, Dr Desai Thippa Reddy M S of YSRCP won in this seat defeating BJP’s candidate by a margin of 16,589 votes which was 9.82% of the total votes polled. Dr Desai Thippa Reddy M S polled a total of 1,68,986 (38.81%) votes. In 2019, Congress party’ Shajahan Basha (Jaha) won this seat by a margin of 10872 (7.89%) votes and he had polled 1,37,738 – 38.81% of the total votes polled. Interestingly, in 2019 the sitting MLA, Desai Thippa Reddy, was denied the ticket to contest, which shocked his supporters, and surprised many other leaders in the state. Because he was one of the very few in the YSR Congress who denied the ticket to contest. A source close to him said Desai Thippa Reddy was denied by the YSR Congress allegedly at the behest of the Rajampet MP who wanted his own candidate to represent the constituency and who would be loyal to him in addition to the party.

P.V Midhun Reddy, current Member of Parliament in the 16th Lok Sabha (2019-2024), represents Rajampet parliamentary constituency, which straddles in Dr YSR Kadapa and Chittoor districts.  He won in 2014 General Elections by defeating the former Union Minister Daggubati Purandeswari of BJP. In 2019, he defeated on YSR Congress with a thumping majority of 268,284 votes against his closest rival the Telugu Desam Party candidate D. K. Satya Prabha. He is the most influential leader in the politics of Madanapalle but also in Chittoor district.

Madanapalle: मदनपल्ले, మదనపల్లె

MLAs of Madanapalle

1952: Dodda Seetharamaiah (Communist Party of India (CPI)

1955: T.G.K. Gupta (Indian National Congress)

1962: Dodda Seetharamaiah (CPI)

1967: A. Narasingarao (Indian National Congress)

1972: A. Narasingarao (Indian National Congress)

1978: G.V. Narayana Reddy (Indian National Congress I)

1983: R. Narayana Reddy (Telugu Desam Party)

1985: R. Narayana Reddy (Telugu Desam Party)

1989: A. Mohan Reddy (Indian National Congress)

1994: R. Sagar Reddy (Telugu Desam Party)

1999: R. Shobha Rani (Telugu Desam Party)

2004: Dommalapati Ramesh (Telugu Desam Party)

2009: Mohammed Shahjahan Basha (Jaha) (Indian National Congress)

2014: Desai Tippa Reddy (YSRCP)

2019: Mohammed Nawaz Basha (YSRCP)

Madanapalle: मदनपल्ले, మదనపల్లె in 2024 Assembly Elections

Andhra Pradesh will go for Assembly elections in 2024, the 16th election to the state legislature, and would be along with the General Elections. At this stage, TDP is not in alliance with the BJP and its presence in the state legislature is at its historic low. What would be the spirit of TDP in the next elections is not certain. In January 2020, actor-politician Pawan Kalyan announced that Jana Sena Party has entered into an alliance with the BJP, and indicated that BJP and Jana Sena Party would fight all elections together, and expressed to capture power in Andhra Pradesh in 2024 from the ruling YSR Congress headed by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Sunil Deodhar, BJP in charge of Andhra Pradesh said a press conference along with Pawan Kalyan ‘We will fight together to end political casteism, political dynasty raj and corruption in the state’. Deodhar said, “In a short period of time, Jagan Mohan Reddy government has failed and so did Chandrababu Naidu. And there is no question of any alliance of the BJP with Telugu Desam or with YSRCP in the state.”

Pawan Kalyan of Jana Sena Party had supported the BJP in 2014 to both Assembly elections and General Elections though he did not contest elections. But in 2019, his party fought the elections along in alliance with the Left (CPI and CPM) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). In 2024, he said his party is in alliance with the BJP and said they will form the government after the 2024 elections.

C. Harish Reddy, contractor and politician from Madanapalle, believes the YSR CP will retain the constituency in the 2024 elections. The reasons he gives are: Voters are predominantly happy with the Jaganmohan Reddy’s government, a community among the Hindus and Muslims are solidly behind the YSR CP, the BCs who are traditionally with the TDP do not see hope for the TDP or a dynamic leader leading the party from the front with the ageing N. Chandra Babu Naidu.

A community among the Hindus have increased in numbers significantly from about 8000 people ten years ago to more than 35,000 in Madanapalle says Harish Reddy. Most of these migrants to Madanapalle are from surrounding villages and towns of Madanapalle who had migrated to the town to start a business and they were all behind the YSR CP and have some connection to the YSR CP, Peddi Reddy family, and undiminished admiration for Dr YSR which translates to Jaganmohan Reddy.

What about BJP? In 2014, C. Narasimha Reddy contested with the BJP ticket and lost narrowly against Dr Desai Thippa Reddy M S of YSRCP by a margin of 16,589 votes which was 9.82% of the total votes polled. If Narasimha Reddy contests in 2024 on a BJP ticket, the party which has an alliance with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, he may have chance. For this Harish Reddy says, the BJP has a presence in the town but those votes would not be more than 7000 and Narasimha Reddy’s personal vote bank is limited. What if, if BJP and Jana Sena and TDP come together in 2024 Assembly elections? Even if that happens, he says the YSR CP’s Mohammed Nawaz Bash has won by 35,000 votes of majority over the TDP candidate.

Questions for 2024 elections:

Will the sitting MLA, Mohammed Nawaz Basha (YSR Congress), retain the ticket to contest? This question arises because the sitting MLA from 2014-2019 was Desai Tippa Reddy, and he was denied the ticket on behalf of YSR Congress allegedly at the behest of Mithun Reddy, MP.

Will TDP form an alliance with the BJP? If it forms an alliance, which party would get the ticket?

What would be the role of Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party, which is in alliance with the BJP? Will the party show interest to make its presence felt in Madanapalle or for that matter in Chittoor district? Will Power Star actively participate in the district’s politics?

Will Desai Thippa Reddy, the former MLA, be in the electoral fray? If so, will it be YSR Congress or some other party?

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