The YSRCP, facing the anti-incumbency heat — it dropped over 60% of its 22 MPs and a quarter of its MLAs — has replaced its sitting MP M V V Satyanarayana with former Vizianagaram MP Botsa Jhansi Lakshmi, who is married to state minister Botsa Satyanarayana. The TDP has fielded the chairperson of GITAM institutions Mathukumilli Sribharat who is the son-in-law of actor and Hindupur TDP MLA N Balakrishna, one of the sons of TDP founder and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister. The TDP has not won the constituency since 1999 when Sribharat’s father and GITAM’s founder M V V S Murthi won it. This will be Sribharat’s second attempt at following in his father’s footsteps, having fallen short five years ago by 4,000 votes.While the TDP holds four of the seven Assembly segments in Visakhapatnam — Visakhapatnam East, Visakhapatnam West, Visakhapatnam North, and Visakhapatnam South — three are with the YSRCP (Bheemli, Gajuwaka and Srungavarapukota).In the absence of national issues, the poll narrative here is very much localised. Around 20 km from the city, in the town of Gajuwaka where the Vizag Steel Plant is located, V Sree Lakshmi waits for a bus along with her family. “The schemes of the state government help us get by. If not for them, it would have been tough for us to survive. My children are studying thanks to this scheme (Amma Vodi) and only this can ensure a better future for them,” she says.Lakshmi’s family is one of 7,000 who donated their land in the 1970s for the steel plant but did not get a job in return. The proposal to privatise the steel plant is an issue that resonates with the people of Gajuwaka and its neighbouring areas. “We will vote for anyone who stands by us and halts the plant’s privatisation. We will oppose the move tooth and nail,” says an office-bearer of the Visakha Steel Workers Union on the condition of anonymity. All the regional parties, including the BJP’s allies, are opposed to privatising the plant.In Visakhapatnam city, the capital issue, infrastructure development, and unemployment are most talked about. “It has been a decade and there is no clarity if the city will get the status of capital or not. Being the capital will ensure development takes place. We fear we will remain relegated to the status of a tier-2 city forever,” says 49-year-old Central government employee K S V N Raju while out on a walk along R K Beach.After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the TDP government declared Amravati the new capital. However, Jagan, after storming to power in 2019, proposed the three-capital plan, with Visakhapatnam as the executive capital. The issue gained more prominence recently after the CM announced at a rally in Bheemli, near Visakhapatnam, that he would take oath for a second term in the “capital Visakhapatnam”.The YSRCP campaign is revolving around its Vision Visakha, a Rs 1.5 lakh crore project for the development of the port city that Jagan announced in March. “We have Vision Visakha. My experience of being in Parliament before, where I raised issues pertaining to Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam, will help me execute the project effectively,” says Botsa Jhansi Lakshmi.However, some YSRCP leaders admit that the challenge from the TDP is a strong one. “She (Lakshmi) is a strong candidate but people here have sympathy with the TDP nominee as he lost by a narrow margin (in 2019). Also, development has been slow as two years were lost to the coronavirus pandemic. But we cannot say anything for sure. The seat has sprung surprises in the past,” says a YSRCP district office-bearer.The TDP has come out with a Visakhapatnam-specific manifesto this time around. “I came out with seven points specific to Vizag. People here are fed up with the YSRCP, which has been lying to them while invoking the legacy of former CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. The situation is very different to what it was in 2019,” Sribharat says at a public event.TDP leaders are buoyant because of the alliance but are concerned about the jobs issue. “The victory (for Sribharat) will be very easy due to the alliance. The real challenge is to provide jobs to the youth here. Once we come to power, giving the promised 20 lakh jobs should be our top priority,” says TDP worker K Venkatesh.Several voters, especially among the youth, complain about a lack of jobs. Upendra, a chemical engineer from Bheemli who drives a taxi for a ride-hailing app, says “The youth are not looking for freebies. We want stable jobs. Can you name one big company that has set up its office here? What is the point of being away from my family and being educated if I have to live on the government’s charity? The schemes will not last forever.”