Mahabubabad, also known as ‘Mranukota’ or ‘Manukota’, derives its name from its past ruler, Mahabub, an official of the then Nizam. The name ‘Mranu’ translates to tree, and ‘Kota’ to fort, reflecting the area’s lush greenery resembling a fortified structure in earlier times. Historically, Mahabub stayed in a place called Shikarkhana outside Manukota during a visit before Independence.
While agriculture serves as the primary occupation, Mahabubabad Lok Sabha constituency also boasts of granite quarries and rich flora and fauna since both the Eturnagaram and Pakhal wildlife sanctuaries lie within the geographical area of this constituency. The demand for a steel factory in the Mahabubabad Lok Sabha constituency has been longstanding, given the presence of iron ore in Yellandu Assembly segments and other areas within the constituency.
Notable landmarks include the UNESCO heritage site — Ramappa Temple — located in Palampet village within the Mulugu Assembly segment, and the biennial Sammakka-Sarakka Jatara — Asia’s largest tribal festival — held in Medaram, also within the constituency.
This constituency is part of the Red Corridor due to Naxal insurgencies and is identified as one of India’s economically backward regions, qualifying for the Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) programme.
The Mahabubabad Lok Sabha constituency, established in 2008 during the constituency delimitation, was reserved for the STs. Both the Koyas and Lambadas influence the outcome of the election.
Previously, the Yellandu Assembly fell under Khammam Lok Sabha, while Bhadrachalam and Pinapaka were under Bhadrachalam Lok Sabha. These segments, along with four others from Warangal, formed the new Mahabubabad Lok Sabha seat. In the recent elections, the Congress secured victories in six out of seven Assembly seats, while the remaining was won by BRS candidate Tellam Venkat Rao in Bhadrachalam. Meanwhile, Mr. Venkat Rao deserted the BRS to join the Congress.
Porika Balram Naik of the Congress won in 2009, followed by TRS candidate Azmeera Seetaram Naik in 2014 and BRS’s Maloth Kavitha in 2019.
TRS candidate Kavitha Maloth won the 2019 general election with a significant margin, marking the constituency’s high voter turnout of 69.04%. In the same election, Kavitha became the first tribal woman from Mahabubabad to become an MP, defeating Congress candidate Porika Balram Naik.
Despite BRS’s major debacle in Assembly segments in the 2023 elections, its candidate, Maloth Kavitha, remains a key contender. Kavitha’s father D. S. Redya Naik is a veteran politician who won the Dornakal Assembly segment for six times.
The establishment of a steel factory in the Bayyaram area and securing funds for Medaram Jatara, demand for setting up a chilli research station and food processing units for the benefit of farmers are some of the key issues in this election. It may be worth mentioning here that veteran Congress leader Ramasahayam Surender Reddy, who was elected as a Member of Parliament for four terms and as a Member of the State Legislature in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh for four terms, was elected from the erstwhile Mahabubabad Lok Sabha constituency in 1962. Surender Reddy’s family still has good influence over the constituency, and his son Raghuram Reddy is contesting as the Congress candidate from the Khammam Lok Sabha constituency.
“Considering different factors including the low morale of the BRS cadre, and non-presence of the BJP cadre in rural areas, the Congress may clinch the victory in this constituency,” said M. Adinarayana Reddy, a staunch supporter of the BRS from Narsampet Assembly constituency. “Due to its geographical proximity to Khammam Lok Sabha constituency, the sentiments of the people in Khammam too reflect here,” said a government teacher in Mahabubabad.
