CESS poll result: BJP, BRS trade barbs in public

SIRCILLA: Allegations and counter-allegations between the ruling BRS and BJP created a tense situation in Vemulawada on Monday, against the backdrop of the counting of votes for the elections to fill 15 director posts of the Cooperative Electric Supply Society (CESS) of Sircilla.

While the police had deployed a large contingent at the Government Junior College, where the counting was underway, leaders of both parties raised slogans against one another.

Choppadandi BRS MLA Ravishankar was present at the site to oversee the proceedings. The election authorities withheld the result of the Vemulawada Rural poll due to BRS’ objections, after the winner was declared.    

The polling took place on December 24, with 76 candidates jostling for the 15 posts. As many as 73,189 votes were polled against a total of 87,130. At the time of filing the report, counting of votes for 13 posts was underway, sources said.

BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay was quick to attack the BRS, claiming that it had tampered with results. He questioned why the results of five posts, in which BJP-supported candidates were declared winners, were changed.

He said that the public was decisive in their aim to teach the BRS a lesson, but the ruling party was making a mockery of democracy. “In this background, was there any need to conduct the elections to the CESS and misuse public money?” he said.

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao dismissed the allegations and said that the BJP failed in its bid to win the election through fraudulent means. He questioned the BJP’s aim in turning the CESS poll into a general election-like event and accused the party of spending money to influence the voters.

Rama Rao said that it has been repeatedly proved that there was no space for the BJP in Telangana and that its defeat in the CESS poll was the nail in the coffin. He said that the public was against the BJP due to its moves to privatise the power sector and that they voted for non-BJP candidates, as they were fearful of the BJP abolishing free power supply to farmers, ending subsidies and fixing meters to agricultural motors.

Rama Rao assured the public of continued quality power supply and the creation of basic amenities under the CESS. He thanked the Sircilla public for voting BRS-supported candidates to power.