Visakhapatnam: Parvathipuram assembly constituency in Vizianagaram district, the largest reserved constituency in the district, is slated to be a key one this polls, as the outcome here could have a spillover effect in the neighbouring constituencies of Bobbili and Salur Parvathipuram has seesawed between the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) over the last four decades, but since 2014 the YSR Congress (YSRC) has had a strong presence.Though the YSRC candidate, J Prasanna Kumar, lost by a little over 6,000 votes to Bobbili Chiranjeevulu of TDP in 2014, the YSRC has built a very strong base in the constituency. This time, Chiranjeevulu will contest again on a TDP ticket.The constituency has over 1,82,333 voters as per the final list, with women outnumbering men by a margin of over 2,000.A senior YSRC observer said, “There is a set pattern that can be observed. Both Parvathipuram and Bobbili have shown a common voting pattern over the last two decades. Ever since the 1994 elections, voters in the two constituencies have shown an eerie voting pattern. In 1994, voters in the two constituencies voted for TDP, but in the 1999, 2004 and 2009 elections, they voted for Congress candidates. Though Salur voters voted for TDP in 1999 and 2004, instead of the Congress, the winning margins were pretty tight.”When asked about this similarity in voting pattern, YSRC BC cell general secretary, G Madhava, explained, “Parvathipuram is the local administrative headquarters, with many migrants from Salur and Bobbili constituencies having settled there. The voter’s mood is reflective of the voter’s mood in Salur and Bobbili as well. Not just the voters, even the cadre share a common thread in these three constituencies.”Madhava added that the majority of the voters are BCs, including Turpu Kapus and Koppula Velamas, who form the bulk of the voters. He added that voters network very closely with their kin in the neighbouring constituencies before casting their vote.This time, the contest is between Alajangi Joga Rao of the YSRC and the incumbent Bobbili Chiranjeevulu, who is facing anti-incumbency. However, sources disclosed that by giving the ticket to Joga Rao instead of Prasanna Kumar, the party could have hurt its chances, not just in Parvathipuram, but also in Bobbili and Salur.

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