The polling material for the by-election to Badvel (SC) Assembly constituency was distributed to the officials on election duty on Friday.
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Joint Collectors M. Gouthami (Revenue), C.M. Saikant Varma (Development), H.M. Dhyana Chandra (Housing) and Returning Officer Ketan Garg monitored the process. The staff were seen taking trouble in protecting the material from the heavy rain that lashed Kapada district.
The BJPhas dubbed the byelection as ‘might versus right’, making a veiled reference to the ruling YSRCP’s ‘might’ and the BJP’s ‘righteousness’. Social media is abuzz with posts referring to the party candidate Panathala Suresh’s rise from a student leader in the ABVP to an MLA candidate. Alleging that the YSRCP had showered sops ahead of the bypoll, the BJP campaigned for Mr. Suresh highlighting that the latter had no political background or ancestral property.
BJP State vice-president C. Adinarayana Reddy took potshots at the Cabinet Ministers alleging that they were camping in Badvel in violation of the law. He appealed to the voters to accept the money, but cast their vote to the ‘right candidate’. He said the Election Commission had taken serious note of the violation of the Model Code of Conduct in Badvel.
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On the other hand, the YSRCP leaders are sitting cool, hoping to leverage on the ‘Navaratnalu’ to win the bypoll with a huge margin. Rayachoti MLA Gadikota Srikanth Reddy accused the BJP of taking a ‘malicious campaign’. “We are confident that the voters will show the BJP the door,” he said.