Telugu Desam Party's Bhuma Brahmananda Reddy trounced his YSRCP rival Shilpa Mohan Reddy in the prestigious Nandyal bypoll. Reddy won the election by a huge margin of 27,456 votes.
TDP had maintained lead throughout, making counting a mere formality.
The bypoll had witnessed high profile campaigning with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu visiting the constituency twice and camping there for a few days. YSRCP chief Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy had campaigned in Nandyal for 13 days, conducted several public meetings and used vitriolic language against Naidu.
On the day of the election (August 23), there was a high voter turnout of nearly 80 per cent and the YSRC had said this indicated a strong feeling of anti-incumbency among people while the TDP claimed that the voter turnout suggested increased support the ruling party has been receiving. He had also accused Naidu of failing fulfil the campaign promises after coming to power in the state.
While some of the districts in Rayalaseema have always been partial to YSRCP, there were also rumours that people were unhappy with the ruling party.
Shilpa Mohan Reddy had said he would quit politics if he loses the elections. It remains to be seen if he will keep his word.
The Nandyal bypoll had indeed set a precedent for conducting bypolls—both the parties used both money and muscle power. “The byelection had all the ingredients to make a blockbuster action-packed thriller,” actor-turned-politician R.K. Roja had said.
So, did the people vote for TDP because of the development work happening at the grass root level or did they vote for the party because of the distasteful election campaign carried out by Jaganmohan Reddy? Political pundits claim that the ruling party won the election as they gave money to voters and wonder if this will be the trend in the 2019 general elections. There are also people who said Jaganmohan Reddy's remarks against the CM had irked the voters who decided to vote for TDP.
The bypoll was necessitated after sitting MLA Bhuma Nagi Reddy died of a heart attack on March 12. Nagi Reddy was elected on a YSRCP ticket in the 2014, but joined TDP in February 2016. His daughter Akhila Priya Reddy, who was elected on a YSRCP ticket from the neighbouring Allagada assembly constituency, had also moved to TDP along with Reddy. She was made tourism and culture minister after her father’s death.
