Nagarjuna Sagar bye-poll: TRS, Congress, BJP and TDP candidates file nominations
The candidates of the ruling TRS, opposition Congress, BJP and TDP on Tuesday filed their nominations for the April 17 bye-election from the Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly constituency in Telangana. Senior Congress leader K Jana Reddy, ruling TRS candidate Nomula Bhagat, BJP's P Ravi Kumar and TDP nominee Muvva Arun Kumar, among others, submitted their papers, party sources said. Tuesday was the last day to file nominations.
The bye-poll was necessitated following the death of sitting TRS MLA Nomula Narasimhaiah due to ill-health in December last and the party has given ticket to his son Nomula Bhagat.
Jana Reddy, who was Leader of Opposition in the previous Telangana Legislative Assembly, lost to Narasimhaiah in the 2018 assembly elections. Jana Reddy in his election affidavit reportedly stated his family assets were worth Rs 18.12 crore, while his TRS rival Bhagath declared assets worth Rs 2.20 crore with a liability of Rs 84.52 lakh.
After filing his nominations, Jana Reddy appealing for a healthy contest, was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express as, “To preserve the fabric of democracy and to lay the foundation for a healthy democracy, let us have free and fair elections. I would like to appeal to all parties, whether they accept it or not. Since the TRS government will remain unaffected by the victory or defeat in this election, and nothing much is going to happen to the BJP either, on a trial basis let us try not to induce the voters.”
Meanwhile, Kadari Anjaiah Yadav, a BJP leader from Nagarjuna Sagar, joined the ruling TRS on Tuesday. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao welcomed him into the party fold. While the TRS looks to retain the seat in the bye-poll, the election is crucial for the Congress to revive its fortunes in the wake of failures in the Dubbaka assembly constituency bye-election and Hyderabad civic polls late last year and the recent MLC election.
The Nagarjuna Sagar bye-election is also crucial for the BJP as it aims to emerge as the alternative to TRS in the state. BJP had won the Dubbaka Assembly bye-election and made significant gains in the Hyderabad civic elections. Scrutiny of nominations would be taken up on Wednesday. Votes would be counted on May 2.
PTI inputs