Fifteen candidates are in the fray for the byelection to the Atmakur Assembly constituency slated for on June 23 as the nomination papers of 13 candidates were rejected by SPSR Joint Collector and Returning Officer M.N. Harendra Prasad during the scrutiny on Tuesday. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is June 9.
A contest is expected to be between YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) nominee Mekapati Vikram Reddy and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Gundlapalli Bharat Kumar Yadav. Bahujana Samaj Party nominee N. Obulesu and Indian Muslim League candidate Sk. Moinudeen are also testing their electoral fortunes.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has decided not to field a candidate, going by the convention of leaving the byelection uncontested to facilitate the return a family member of the deceased sitting MLA to the Assembly.
The YSRCP led by its regional coordinator Balineni Srinivasa Reddy is doing everything possible to ensure a victory in the bypoll. The demise of former Information Technology Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy necessitated the byelection in Atamakur.
The bypoll is seen as a litmus test for the parties in the fray ahead of the Assembly elections in 2024.
‘’The task before us to win the byelection by more than 1 lakh votes,” said Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy while campaigning in Atamakur. Rajya Sabha member Vemuri Prabhakar Reddy also took part in the campaign.
Meanwhile, the BJP is making all-out efforts to woo the voters, highlighting the ‘liberal’ Central assistance given to the State by the BJP-led NDA government. “The party considers the bypoll as a springboard to come to power in 2024,” said BJP nominee Mr. Bharat Kumar.
