MAN OF MANOEUVRES

Chandrababu Naidu has, with tact and patience, stitched up an alliance to regain his lost influence 

- RAHUL DEVULAPALLI

Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh has most of the qualities of a quaint, peaceful south Indian town. There is abundant greenery, complemented by pleasant faces and soft-spoken voices. On regular days, local people would be concerned more about job opportunities in Bengaluru and Chennai (120km and 250km away, respectively) than in Hyderabad (at a moon’s distance of 650km).

But this is election time, and politics has taken centre-stage. Part of Chittoor district in the Rayalaseema region, the Kuppam assembly constituency is the bastion of N. Chandrababu Naidu—Telugu Desam Party chief, eight-time MLA and three-time, CEO-like chief minister.

But people are talking less about Naidu than two women who are not contesting the polls. One of them is Durga Padmini, an entrepreneur who hails from Hyderabad. Durga is the wife of K.R.J. Bharath, MLC and YSR Congress leader who is Naidu’s opponent in Kuppam. She has been on a mission to reach every household in the constituency, and sources say that she has met 90 per cent of rural families and voters in less than one year. In some cases, she has even extended financial help.

With elections due in May, the YSR Congress, led by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, wants to dislodge Naidu from his home turf. Durga’s efforts to woo voters, especially women, is part of the groundwork.