The Tollywood celebrities in the fray this general elections appear to have proved their mettle in the electoral battle too as they emerged victorious with good voters’ mandate.
Topping the chart was R.K. Roja, the YSRCP sitting MLA from Nagari Assembly constituency, who sought re-election. The star campaginer of the YSRCP had a significant lead over her closest rival from TDP Gali Bhanu Prakash, right from the start which she maintained all through the poll tussle, ultimately defeating him by a margin of 2,681 votes.
Nagari is a rural constituency with 1,94,748 voters and it recorded a voter turnout of 86.22 % this time, against 83.34 % in the 2014 elections.
With a comfortable lead and her victory being certain, Ms. Roja chose to speak her mind.
‘Rajanna rajyam’
“I have been telling that people are eager to usher in the ‘Rajanna rajyam’. I am sure voters will be happy to have Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy as the Chief Minister,” she said amid the wild cheers by her supporters. Ms. Roja also handed out a warning to the TDP leaders: “Don’t you dare call me ‘iron leg’ (jinxed) again. I am, in fact, lucky for my party,” she asserted.
“N. Chandrababu Naidu had insulted me without reason on several occasions. Now, people of the State have replied him in a fitting manner,” she added.
TDP leader and Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna was also proved to be voters’ favourite. Despite the party’s rout this elections, he was leading with 67,308 votes, leaving behind the bureaucrat-turned-politician and YSRCP candidate Sk. Mohammed Iqbal till the last report came in.
However, ‘power star’ and Jana Sena Party (JSP) Pawan Kalyan could not maintain his on-screen aura in the poll battle as he was trailing behind the YSRCP candidates in Gajuwaka and Bhimavaram Assembly constituencies from where he had contested.
