Visakhapatnam: The Vizianagaram assembly segment has for long been the lair of the Pusapatis. Only once did it slip out of their hands — in 2004.The constituency has a substantial upper caste vote bank, with the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vysyas, and the Telagas constituting over 30% of the population. Kapus fill up another 30%, with the BCs, SCs, STs and minorities completing the remaining part. Women voters outnumber men — out of the total 2,10,722 voters, women account for 1,07,026 as against 1,03,669 male voters.Both candidates in the fray are from the upper caste. Kolagotla Veerabhadra Swami is an Arya Vysya, while the Pusapatis, the erstwhile ruling family of the area, are Kshatriyas — which means the substantial Arya Vysya vote bank could be split between the YSRC and the TDP, while the Brahmin and Kshatriya votes normally side with the Pusapati scion.Kapus will play a key role in the final outcome, a senior TDP leader said. “There is some opposition from one Kapu segment, who are known to be YSRC supporters. Some dissent is also there in the camp of sitting MLA Meesala Geetha. However, together they can’t muster enough Kapu numbers to damage the TDP’s chances. In 2014, we got almost 50% of the total votes polled, and we expect to do better this time. Vizianagaram will stay with TDP, Aditi Gajapathi Raju’s victory is certain. The sitting MLA’s unpopularity could have damaged our chances,” he said.On the chances of YSRC spliting the Kapu vote bank, he said the YSRC candidate will not get more than not more than 20,000 Kapu votes. If that happens, it could well be an uphill task for YSRC’s Veerabhadra Swami. “He is a strong candidate and a popular leader. He will give a tough fight to all,” said a YSRC leader.On his part, Veerabhadra preferred to keep the cards close to his chest. “There are still three weeks to go for the polls. It’s too early to talk about who will win and who will not,” he told TOI.

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