Purandeswari: Helmsman’s daughter

[Kallu mama]

Visakhapatnam: Touring this City of Destiny on Sunday, thigh-slapper N Balakrishna spared a thought for his sister, Daggubati Purandeswari. “I would have canvassed for her had she contested as an Independent and not for the Congress,” he said.

People who know Chinnamma says she is an independent, fiercely independent. Being so is what got her, reputedly the most loved of the NTR daughters, where she is, in the Congress, in the Union ministry and in the honour list of MPs of the last Lok Sabha.

It is said of the NTR clan that the boys are well-behaved and obedient and the women intelligent and independent. Purandeswari proved this in 2004 when she did what was then unthinkable for a member of the NTR family. While her siblings brooded over the hijacking of their father’s legacy by their brother-in-law Chandrababu Naidu, she cut a path of her own. She crossed over to the Congress, and charmed the voters of Bapatla out of their astonishment. Her opponent in 2004, the film producer D Rama Naidu, refused to sling mud at her, saying he couldn’t bring himself to do so at Chinnamma, to whom he related by marriage.

Obviously, Purandeshari did not like moving from Bapatla. But then the seat became reserved in the new delimitation. It took strong assurances from YSR and the high command for her to agree to move to Vizag LS, recently vacated by veteran N Janardhan Reddy. It was a new place, and she had never networked there. She accepted most reluctantly.

And now she is the frontrunner. As is her nature, Purandeswari started her campaign by charming all the party groups in the highly caste-sensitive constituency. The TDP helped by fielding another outsider, old war horse MVVS Murthy. The only native to this city is former mayor DV Subba Rao of the BJP. The fledgling PRP has put the untested P Srinivasa Yadav in the fray.

Vizag is a city with a strong sense of its own emerging importance in the state, as a port of commerce, a naval base, an industrial hub and a tourist spot. The issues are varied, ranging from the job security of industrial workers, displacement of people by the Gangavaram port and other urban problems like pollution, sanitation and roads. As a trained gemologist, Purandeshwari brings a keen sense for detail and listens to constituents with her characteristic broad smile.

The city has stretched itself along the coast over the years. Delimitation has divided it into four segments, Vizag North, South, East and West. The adjoining industrial area of Gajuwaka has become a segment by itself. Bhimili and Sringavarapu Kota are the other two Assembly seats in Visakhaptnam LS.

As everywhere, local political pundits say caste is a major factor in this constituency despite repeated repudiations of that theory. Nevertheless, both the main contenders, Puradeswari herself and Murthy are Kammas. The BJP’s DV Subba Rao is a Brahmin and the PRP’s Srinivasa Yadav is likely to take the Kapu vote should the voting following the caste pattern.

All else being equal, what works for Purandeswari is her charisma, and the sincerity and humility people see in her. It’s a barometer of her standing in the state that when little brother stopped in her street in Karamchedu and slapped his thigh and twirled his moustache, it was derided as an uncalled-for affront. She herself forgave him, as a big sister would a brattish brother.