VIJAYAWADA: Independents are giving nightmare to candidates of major political parties, who are locked in multi-cornered contests, though the latter are fighting hard to win the elections. According to election authorities, as many as 232 candidates are in the fray in Krishna district and of them 76 are independents.
Vijayawada West Assembly constituency has the highest number of 10 independents, followed by Mylavaram with nine, Kaikaluru and Gudivada with six each and Vijayawada Central with five. One independent each is in the fray in Pedana and Machilipatnam.
Ina politically conscious Krishna district, there are two parliamentary and 16 Assembly constituencies.Telugu Desam, YSR Congress, Jana Sena, BJP, Congress, Left parties and Praja Shanthi Party of KA Paul, Republican Party of India and Pyramid Party of India are contesting the elections.
In a multi-cornered contest, the winning margin is normally big. Though the winning chances of independents are minimal, they can mar the chances of major contestants by splitting votes. “Even an independent is polled 1,000 votes, it can have an adverse effect on the victory chances of major contestants in a multi-cornered contest,” said political analyst and former MLA Adusumilli Jayaprakash.
In some cases, independents enter the election fray at the behest of some influential people and political bigwigs, whose only intention is to mar the winning chances of their rivals and settle scores. “In most of the cases, independents fail to get their deposits. But the cumulative vote share of all independents in a constituency may be at least 10 per cent of the total votes polled, which can change the fortunes of major contestants,” Jayaprakash added.