HYDERABAD : AS Telangana gears up for the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda graduates constituency MLC byelection, the decline in number of voters has become a cause for concern.
The number of voters in the constituency has dropped from a little over five lakh in the regular election to 4.63 lakh voters in this byelection. As many as 41,726 voters who have previously enrolled themselves showed no interest in registering their names this time.
The graduate MLC byelection comes just after the conclusion of Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state.
There has been a shift in political dynamics in the state in recent times. During the previous Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda graduates constituency MLC election, the BRS was in power. Now, the Congress is in power.
The political observers believe that the unemployed youth, who were up in arms against the BRS, may not have shown interest in registering their names.
Speaking to TNIE, Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) president Prof Kodandaram said that the Lok Sabha elections and graduates segment elections are happening simultaneously, and this seems to have a huge impact on the bypoll.
“Youth are more attracted towards Lok Sabha elections. This might be the reason for decline in voter enrolment for Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda bypoll. In the 2021 election, many people contested and even the voter number was high. Many graduates were against the then TRS government. Despite those factors, Palla Rajeshwar Reddy won by using power politics,” he added.
The TNIE has also reached out to a few graduates in the segment who did not enrol their names this time.
Sandeep Erukala, a native of Warangal, was clueless as to why his application for enrolment was rejected. He said that many of his acquaintances also faced this issue.
Interestingly, Chintapandu Naveen alias Teenmar Mallanna, who has given tough competition to former MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, is now contesting on the Congress ticket. The BJP has fielded Gujjala Premendar Reddy.
The bypoll is necessitated by the election of Palla Rajeshwar Reddy as an MLA from the Janagoan constituency in the 2023 Assembly elections. The bypoll will be held from 8 am to 4 pm on May 27 and the results will be declared on June 5.