MLC bypoll set to witness keen fight

Khammam: Even as officials are putting in place all arrangements for the graduation election of the combined districts of Khammam, Nalgonda and Warangal, the candidates are sweating it out to win public favour.

After winning Jangaon MLA seat, Palla Rajeshwar Reddy resigned as MLC, necessitating the by-election for which 52 are in the fray. The winner will serve in that capacity until March 2027.

The polling by ballot system is on May 27 from 8 am to 4 pm. In the districts of Khammam and Bhadradri, there are 118 and 55 polling places respectively. The corresponding districts will receive 140 and 69 ballot boxes respectively. On Sunday, polling stations would receive their polling equipment from SRBA GNR, Khammam, Ramachandra Degree College, and Bhadradri district. The ballot boxes will be relocated to Nalgonda.

In Khammam district, there are 142 POs, 142 APOs, 284 OPOs, 66 POs, 66 APOs, and 136 OPOs. In Bhadradri district, there are 66 POs, 66 APOs, and 136 OPOs. Master trainers at the district level supervised training sessions on polling management and safety measures. Every polling place will have CCTV cameras installed, and webcasting will be used to observe the polling process.

To guarantee a seamless voting procedure, sectoral officials, invigilators, and nodal officers will take precautions. In Khammam district, there are 83,600 graduate voters comprising 50,513 males, 33,083 women, and four others. In Kothagudem district, there are 40,106 voters in total. Of them 22,590 are male voters and 17,516 female voters.

All major parties are honing their last minute strategies to secure a majority vote bank. Gujjula Premender Reddy from the BJP, Anugula Rakesh Reddy from Bharata, and Tenmar Mallanna from the Congress are the contestants. The BRS is hoping to retain the seat, while the Congress has thrown in a big challenge. BJP is confident it will succeed this time. Top leaders of the party are spearheading the campaign to reach out to the graduate voters.