Kurnool: Nandyal byelection, the first election in AP after demonetization, is reeling under the ‘demon’ effect. Unlike other elections where cash flowed like water, this time both TD and YSRC are not able to pull out cash wads and lure voters.
With instant cash disappearing from the scene, poll workers are no longer jumping in the fray. But smart TD poll managers have managed to work their way around this. They have devised a token system to avoid being caught distributing cash, said a poll observer. TD workers were seen distributing ‘green tokens’ to a bunch of women for participating in an election campaign.
But this new system will take some time to get believers. Some of the women refused outright to take any green token and insisted on cash. In the commotion that ensued, a local TV channel got some interesting footage which went viral in minutes. When asked to comment on this ‘green token’ arrangement, TD District President Somisetty Venkates-warlu said that there was no truth to it. It was devised by the opposition to discredit the Telugu Desam. He said that TD stood for upholding democratic values and would not resort to gimmicks.
“The Election Commission has deployed flying squads, expenditure observers and shadow parties to record the goings on in Nandyal by-poll”, said Returning Officer V Prasanna Venkatesh. A YSRSP activist said that N. Chandrababu Naidu is spending up to Rs 70 c-rore to win this election. Scores of offices have been set up and an estimated Rs 3,000 is being spent on each of these offices daily. Those joining the party campaign are paid '250 a day. All this will go on till August 23. In addition, local youth associations are being given equipment like sports gear. If sources are to be believed, one vote could cost anything between Rs 1000 to Rs 5000.
The TD is said to ''rent'' workers for its campaigns. On many occasions, non-locals have been roped in to show crowds. They are being paid regularly.
