With a day to go for the declaration of election results, betting over the candidates appears to have reached a feverish pitch in the city as a conservative estimate suggests that close to ₹600 crore is at stake.
On Tuesday, the betting stakes were said to be poised at 1:1 between the Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress Party.
Sources said that surprisingly, even a few candidates have pitched in with high stakes through benamis.
Speaking to The Hindu on the condition of anonymity, a trader who has put in about ₹1 crore said, “The betting is based on three aspects—the party that would win, the majority that a party or a candidate would secure or on the performance of candidates. The stakes are being put on all the three.”
Sources in the Police Department said most of the betting was being done through WhatsApp video calls as neither would there be a proof of calls and recordings nor could they be tracked.
“The modus operandi is similar to that of IPL betting. There are bookies from the city and those spread across the State and all bets are being placed through WhatsApp. The stakes are higher in East and West Godavari districts than Visakhapatnam,” a police officer said.
Despite trying their best, the police are unable to make a breakthrough as most of the high stake punters are from influential section of society, he added.
Land being pledged
It is also learnt that the betting is being done within close circles of the affluent sections and confidentiality is being maintained. Apart from cash, bets are also being placed on land, high-end vehicles and gold.
The betting is said to have picked up after the exit poll results were declared by various agencies, said another trader claiming that he had put in ₹40 lakh on the YSRCP winning the elections.
