The just-concluded Sankranti festivities once again transformed large parts of coastal Andhra into sprawling, high-stakes gambling arenas, with cockfights emerging as the epicentre of betting that insiders estimate ran into thousands of crores of rupees.
According to a conservative estimate, around Rs 3,000 crore is believed to have circulated through cockfighting and associated gambling during the Sankranti period this year.
“For many, the cockfights and gambling fetched lakhs of rupees, which they would not have earned throughout the year from their routine jobs,” an analyst said.
Across the erstwhile West Godavari, East Godavari and Krishna districts, cockfights were organised on a massive scale during Bhogi, Sankranti and Kanuma.
The events turned out to be high-value gambling platforms, drawing a diverse and affluent betting crowd that included businessmen, wealthy agriculturists, politicians and even software professionals.
“In interior villages, a minimum of Rs 1 lakh is wagered on each bout,” said a cockfighting enthusiast from Bhimavaram in West Godavari district.
“At bigger arenas, the stakes range from Rs 50 lakh to as high as Rs 5 crore per fight. Over the three festival days, more than Rs 3,000 crore changed hands this year,” he said.
This year, he added, organisers even arranged spot cash facilities for bettors who arrived without liquid cash—underscoring the scale and sophistication of the operations.
Makeshift casinos mushroomed in villages, hosting card games, dice gambling and other betting events.
Cultural programmes—often featuring record dances with explicit performances—were organised to keep crowds entertained as money flowed freely through the venues.
“There were videos of several politicians belonging to all political parties enjoying record dances on social media platforms. One of them was seen even behaving vulgarly with one of the female dancers,” an observer said.
The scale of participation was evident on village roads across the Konaseema region, where hundreds of luxury cars, SUVs and high-end motorbikes clogged thoroughfares.
Spectators poured in not only from Andhra Pradesh but also from neighbouring Telangana and Tamil Nadu, turning small villages into festival-time gambling hotspots.
Political presence was conspicuous. Several leaders were seen at cockfighting arenas, placing bets or inaugurating events.
Those spotted at different venues included Andhra Pradesh Assembly Deputy Speaker K Raghu Ramakrishnam Raju, former minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, and Rajya Sabha member Sana Satish Babu in Bhimavaram.
Several MLAs—Pathsamata Dharma Raju, Chirri Balraju, Chintamaneni Prabhakar and Kamineni Srinivas—were also seen at different arenas, along with Telangana MLAs Kanakaiah and Adinarayana.
Cockfights were formally inaugurated at multiple locations: at Mummidivaram by Government Whip and MLA Datla Subba Raju, at Ravulapalem by Kothapeta MLA Bandaru Satyanandarao, and at Pithapuram by former MLA SVS Varma.
In several other villages, the events were reportedly managed by supporters of local political leaders.
Cash prizes were not always the reward. In some villages, winners of successive bouts were gifted luxury items.
At Ravulapalem and Veeravaram in Kadiyam mandal, victors walked away with Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles. In Pendur and Paschapuram of Bantumilli mandal in Krishna district, expensive SUVs were offered as prizes.
The frenzy reached such levels that some enthusiasts—particularly those from Telangana—reportedly sold their SUVs on the spot to continue betting on the fights.