Khammam: Switching party loyalty a business before polls

Khammam: The defection of families or people from one party to another party before every election turns out to be quite a ridiculous affair. The ugly scenes keep growing as the date when the state goes to polls approaches. 

No political party is an exception in this regard and the jhadyam (stupidity) is often encouraged by all political parties, particularly by the candidates who are in the fray. 

Earlier, the candidates and parties took such defection as part of their strategy and prestige to get two results. Firstly, such strategy would give momentum to the campaign. Secondly, the joining of families belonging to the Opposition party would hit the morale of the candidate or the party when the election date would come close. In most cases, money would change hands in such defections. Such strategy used to be the norm in the eighties and nineties.

The gesture of people jumping from one party to another party is also staged nowadays to show the increasing strength of the party and the candidate. Reacting to the issue, B. Sankar Reddy, a political activist said, “We can say the joining will be linked to some financial matter. For some leaders, it is like a business before elections.” 

The modus operandi of the joining usually goes like this. Some of the leaders, who have a grip on some families in a colony or village, will approach the party candidate or political leader who is looking after the election. He will brief the voter numbers and their readiness to join the particular party. 

Another issue often raised is that the party or MLA had not developed their village or colony. No cement roads were laid and drinking water facility had not been provided. All these allegations were usually meant to impress the candidate or the party. At the same time, the people or group demand some money to meet expenses.  

The candidates, who are in the fray, often do not have the time to check all the expenses. He wants the public to talk about the joining of members of the Opposition group. 

He is ready to spend some money in the elections. Interestingly, a new group of people called middlemen have also emerged between the people and the parties or candidates. 

Khammam MP P. Srinivas Reddy said, “There is no guarantee that all these people voted in favour of the particular party. Definitely, 25 to 30 per cent will be fake in it.”