Manakondur (SC) aspirants: MLA Rasamayi's folklore vs Dr Satyanarayana's healing touch

Parliament: Karimnagar

District: Karimnagar

MLA: Rasamai (Erupula) Balakishan (Chindollu Madiga|BRS)

MP: Bandi Sanjay Kumar

Reservation: SC

Total Voters: 2,15,688

Booths: 316

Urban Voters: 2%

Rural Voters: 98%

Male: 49.96%

Female: 50.04%

Caste & Religious Demography

Gen + OBC: 76.80%

SC: 22.40%

ST: 1%

Hindu: 96.00%

Muslim: 3.00%

Others : 1.00%

Contestants Profile

Erupula Balakishan (Rasamayi)- BRS

Balakishan was born on May 15, 1965. He started his career as a teacher and became a poet and folk singer. He started a folk group called Rasamayi. The name resonated with the public which is how he is popularly known. During the Telangana agitation, he headed the cultural group for a separate Telangana. He is the convener of the Telangana Dhoom Dhaam Committee. He started his political career with the TRS (now BRS) and won as an MLA from Manakondur in 2014. In the first Cabinet, he was nominated as the chairman for Telangana Samskruthika Sarathi. He won again in the 2018 elections by a margin of 31,509 votes.

Dr Kavvampally Satyanarayana- Congress

Dr Satyanarayana is from Karimnagar city and belongs to the SC community and is a close associate of Revanth Reddy. He is the District Congress Committee (DCC) president and Manakondur Assembly segment in-charge. He has been gaining prominence by providing free treatment for the poor.

Arepalli Mohan - BJP

Arepalli Mohan had last won from the constituency in 2009 on a Congress ticket. In fact, after his loss in 2019, he had joined the BRS hoping that sitting MLAs would be changed by the BRS for the upcoming polls. Much to his dismay, Balakishan was given a ticket again. He then joined the BJP in October 2023. He has a credible image in the constituency. But he has not been active of late due to differences with the BRS

Constituency information

Geography: Manakondur, Ellanthakunta, Bejjanki, Timmapur (LMD Colony) and Shankarapatnam are the mandals in this constituency.

Background: This constituency was formed post the delimitation exercise in 2009 and was earlier part of the Karimnagar Assembly. Since its inception, the BRS has been strong and ended up winning the seat in 2014 and 2018 elections with more than 50 per cent votes. While the primary contest has always been with the BRS and the Congress, the grand old party lacks strong leadership. While the BJP won the 2019 Parliamentary elections, it failed to capitalise and strengthen its cadre at the grassroots.

Cultural / Historical / Religious Identifiers

• Potlapalli Rajanna temple
• Sri Matsya Girindra Swamy Temple In Kothagattu
• Yellamma Temple Gouravelli
• Sammakka Devastanam- Govardhanagiri
• Pochamma Temple Gouravelli

Result Analysis

2014 Elections

Anti-incumbency against sitting MLA Arepalli Mohan helped Rasamayi Balakishan who contested from the TRS ticket. He was able to attract voters through his folk songs. KCR’s positive image in Karimnagar was an added advantage. GV Ramakrishna Rao. Madiga and Mudhiraj communities voted in huge numbers for the TRS. The TDP-BJP alliance candidate Dr Kavvampally Sathyanarayana secured the third place and was able to consolidate the traditional vote bank of both the parties.

2018 Elections

Rasamyi Balakishan was able to win despite strong anti-incumbency against him due to strong organisational presence of the TRS and popularity of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. Apart from this, defection of key Congress leaders like Singireddy Samireddy and other MPTCs and ZPTCs weakened the party giving a clear edge to the TRS. Both Arepalli Mohan and Kavvampally Sathyanarayana however worked together in the Congress-TDP combine. The TRS faced a minor setback as the truck symbol of Samajwadi Forward Bloc was similar to the TRS’ car symbol.

Current Scenario

• Both the BJP and the Congress have been indulging in building cadre at the mandal level.
• Rasamayi Balkishan is facing strong anti-incumbency due to unfulfillment of promises.

Key local issues

• Unavailability of local MLA among masses and allegations of sand mining mafia on him
• Demand for degree college in Ellanthakunta has not been fulfilled
• Road works remain incomplete