Voters working outside Andhra Pradesh ignore appeals, fail to vote

Visakhapatnam: Except for one or two untoward incidents, polling was peacefully in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts of North Andhra.

However, voters living outside the state failed to turn up in spite of concerted efforts by the polling agents of major political parties.

According to sources, polling agents of both the Telugu Desam and YSR Congress offered Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 to each voter apart from travel expenses to reach their native places and cast their vote. However, many citizens working in other cities did not show interest to come to their hometown for just one day and vote.

“It makes no difference in our lives whoever comes to power. During every election, we are promised many things by politicians.

There is neither development nor jobs generated in our region. There’s no point in believing the same leaders again and again.

The new political parties such as Jana Sena and Jana Jagruti have not made an impression that they could change the current situation,” said P. Nagabhushan Rao, who works at a real estate firm in Hyderabad and was not bothered to return and cast his vote in his native Parvathipuram of Vizianagaram district.

A similar feeling prevailed among local youth as well. There was a fight between the agents of TD MLA candidate Gouthu Sireesha and YSRC nominee Dr Seediri Appala Raju at the polling booth in Godavaripuram village of Palasa mandal in Srikakulam district.

Explaining about the incident, a resident of the same village Behara Raja said that he opted for NOTA (none of the above) as he felt that politics has left decency behind.

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