NANDYAL: With the full-throttle campaign of the TDP and YSRC in bypoll-bound Nandyal coming to an end on Monday, a pall of silence settled over the traders’ town. The close of the canvassing also marked the beginning of the rival parties’ agonising wait for the verdict of 2.19 lakh voters on August 23 which will serve as a bellwether for the 2019 elections.The campaign was marked by rancour, with YSRC leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy missing no opportunity to unleash unparliamentary invectives against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and the latter hitting back saying Jagan diatribe was nothing but a swan song in the face of imminent defeat. The campaigns by TDP and YSRC candidates Bhuma Brahmananda Reddy and Silpa Mohan Reddy paled in comparison to the war of words between Naidu and Jagan.
Though Naidu campaigned for just two days, his ministers were in the town even before the byelection was notified and Jagan campaigned for 13 long days targeting Naidu all the time. In emotional outbursts, the YSRC chief went so far as to say there was nothing wrong in shooting down people like Naidu who were not true to their word. Though there were no incidents of violence in the run-up to the byelection, there were, however, allegations that both the parties had resorted to every trick in the trade to woo voters. This ranged from the TDP whipping up a sympathy wave for their candidate’s family by repeatedly playing Bhuma Nagireddy’s funeral on LCD screens in the town to listing out development works taken up by the government in Nandyal town and what it proposed to do for Kurnool district and Rayalaseema region. Bhuma Nagireddy’s daughters — Tourism Minister Akhila Priya and Mounika — campaigned in the town for cousin Bhuma Brahmananda Reddy by projecting themselves as orphans to generate sympathy.
The TDP had, in fact, been preparing for the by-election right after incumbent Bhuma Nagireddy’s death on March 12 by allocating `500 crore for various development works in the constituency. It also sanctioned 13,000 houses for the homeless and took up works including the much-needed road widening of the town. A few days before the election schedule was announced, the total value of development works in the constituency was about `1,500 crore. There were allegations that neither party had lagged behind in the distribution of money as both are comfortable as far as resources are concerned.
Election Watch, an independent organisation, which has deployed its men in the constituency, said more than `150 crore had been spent by the parties in wooing voters. According to the body’s convener Lakshmana Reddy, both the parties had paid up to `2,000 per vote. Both Jagan and Naidu interacted with minority communities and certain caste groups that can tilt scales. As there are at least 50,000 Muslims in the constituency, both the leaders spent considerable time wooing them. While Jagan said he would send a Muslim to the legislative council, Naidu promised to make a member of the community the chairman of the body. They held meetings with Balijas and Vysyas too as they have significant numbers in the constituency.
No stay on RO’s order
Expressing its disinclination to stay an order issued by the Nandyal returning officer stopping all surveys in Nandyal till the completion of the by-election, the High Court said, “Only three hours are left for 48 hours restriction coming into force and no purpose will be served in staying the order now,” the bench observed.