Tirupati: Graduates set to elect new MLC in East Rayalaseema

Tirupati: Amid complaints of massive fraudulent and non-graduate voter registrations in Tirupati city which is part of East Rayalaseema graduates constituency, elections are going to be held under tight police security on Monday. It has become a do or die situation for the ruling party leaders to show a clear majority for its candidate ahead of the 2024 general elections which has resulted in huge enrolment of bogus voters. The opposition parties have levelled serious allegations about this saying that there were over 7,000 bogus voters in the city itself while Tirupati division on the whole has a total of 37,899 voters.

After several parties made a hue and cry over the bogus voter enrollment and made complaints at various levels, it has become a point of discussion among the denizens. However, the Collector K Venkataramana Reddy categorically denied the bogus voters enrolment saying that the voters were actually there but mistakes took place in data entry in the limits of six polling stations which led to the action on six officials who are kept out of poll duties. Meanwhile, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu also wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner stating that the ruling party in collusion with a section of election officials, was making the entire election process a mockery by including bogus and fake voters into the voters' list.

Citing the voters' list, he even mentioned that 30 votes, 38 votes, 34 votes etc., have the same house address which is a clear indication about presence of fake voters in the voter list. A door number in 44th division has 16 voters' but it is a chicken shop with the shutter closed. In the 29-page letter, Naidu gave a list of bogus voters in 26 pages to the EC.

Despite all these allegations, the polling to elect the new graduates and teachers MLCs will be held from 8 am to 4 pm on Monday. YSRCP has entered the graduates MLC fray for the first time and fielded P Shyam Prasad Reddy as its candidate. While Dr K Srikanth is contesting as TDP candidate, M Venkateswar Reddy has been in the fray as PDF candidate. BJP has fielded S Dayakar Reddy and there are 22 candidates in the fray.

In the teachers' constituency of East Rayalaseema, there are eight candidates in the field out of which YSRCP has been supporting P Chandrasekhar Reddy, while APTF and TDP have been supporting LC Ramana Reddy. P Babu Reddy has been in the fray as PDF nominee.

It may be noted that TDP chief Naidu has given a clarion call to the voters to cast their first priority votes to Srikanth and the second priority to the PDF candidate. The counting of votes to be taken up on March 16 in Chittoor.