Armoor: BJP plays turmeric board card to challenge BRS stronghold

Assembly Constituency: Armoor

District: Nizamabad

MLA: Asannagari Jeevan Reddy (Reddy)

Reservation: GEN

Total Voters: 2,01,853

Booths: 217

Urban Voters: 25%

Rural Voters: 75%

Male: 47.24%

Female: 52.75 %

Caste & Religious Demography

Gen + OBC: 74.20%

SC: 16.50%

ST: 9.30%

Hindu: 83.30%

Muslim: 15.20%

Others : 1.5%

Candidates

Asannagari Jeevan Reddy (TRS)

Jeevan Reddy, born into a middle-class agricultural family in Jankampet village, Nizamabad district.His father was a village vice-sarpanch of the Congress.

Jeevan Reddy, an LLB graduate of Osmania University, contested for the first time in the 2014 Assembly elections in Telangana. He was elected the BRS MLA from Armoor twice in the 2014 and 2018 Assembly elections.

He is also a member of the Nizamabad bar council.

Political Background: Jeevan Reddy, a trusted member of the KCR family, began his political career with the TRS (now BRS) and actively participated in the Telangana movement. For the past 15 years, he has actively been participating in TV debates on behalf of the TRS.

Profession: Advocate and politician

Financial Strength: Very strong

Prodduturi Vinay Kumar Reddy (Congress)

Prodduturi Vinay Kumar Reddy, was born on August 23, 1974 in Komanpally, Nizamabad. In 1997, he earned his engineering degree from Siddartha Engineering College in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Vinay Kumar Reddy founded HR constructions, a well-known construction firm based in Hyderabad in 2003.

Vinay Kumar Reddy played an active role in the Telangana movement for a separate statehood in 2011. He entered politics in September 2018 and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He contested as an MLA on behalf of the saffron party in the 2018 Assembly elections and secured 20,000 votes, the highest vote share for the BJP in north Telangana districts.

The BJP appointed him as the in charge for Armoor constituency in 2023. However, he quit the BJP and joined the Congress from here.

Paidi Rakesh Reddy (BJP)

Paidi Rakesh Reddy is an industrialist from Armoor in Nizamabad district. He joined the BJP in 2023 in the presence of Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri. He is contesting on behalf of the BJP in the Telangana Assembly elections 2023.

Constituency details

Geography: Armoor, established in 2006, is the second largest city in Nizamabad. The majority of the population's primary livelihood in this constituency is agriculture, with crops like turmeric, red gram and tobacco being widely grown in this Assembly constituency.

Political history: The Congress was elected eight times from this constituency, while the TDP and the TRS won thrice. The constituency is dominated by BCs, particularly the various sects of Kapus.However, the Reddy community is politically dominant in this constituency.

2014 Assembly Elections Analysis

The divided and collapsed Congress, combined with the Telangana sentiment, contributed to the TRS MLA Jeevan Reddy's victory in this 2014 Assembly elections.

The Kapu votes, which was previously consolidated by the Congress, were split between the Congress and the TRS candidates.

The Padmashaali vote bank majorly preferred the TRS, with some backing the TDP. Reddy votes were split between the Congress and the TRS.

2018 Assembly Elections Analysis

Despite anti-incumbency against the MLA, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's popularity and political consolidation helped save him from a defeat. Most of the BC communities, except for the Kapu community, were consolidated towards the TRS. The BJP allocated a ticket to an outsider from the Reddy community, disregarding the ground leader Srinivas from the same constituency.

Current Situation

There is a strong anti-incumbency sentiment against the MLAs and MPs with regard to the constituency's development. Farmers are dissatisfied with MP Arvind's handling of the turmeric board, while the Congress is gaining ground with its leader, A Lalitha is constantly engaging with the public in the constituency.

Key Local Issues

• Non-establishment of the Turmeric Board
• Gulf Migration
• Beedi Workers, No Provident Fund
• Drinking water issues related to Sri Ram Sagar project