Postal ballots make ruling party candidates jittery

Tirupati: Amidst keen contests in several constituencies this time, postal ballots are causing worry among the ruling party candidates more. In the 2019 elections, Tirupati and Nagari seats out of the total 14 constituencies in the Chittoor district registered least victory margins for YSRCP candidates. In these constituencies as well as others with closely contested races, postal ballots could be decisive.

In the Tirupati Assembly constituency, Bhumana Karunakar Reddy won the 2019 election by just 708 votes over his TDP opponent, M Sugunamma.

Notably, 1,933 postal ballots were cast, with Bhumana receiving 1,167 and Sugunamma 691. Interestingly, NOTA (None of the Above) received 1,414 votes, exceeding Bhumana’s winning margin.

In the current elections, 4,766 postal ballots were cast in Tirupati. There is a widespread belief that government employees and teachers, who predominantly use postal ballots, have leaned towards the NDA this time.

If 80-90 per cent of these postal ballots favour Jana Sena Party candidate Arani Srinivasulu, YSRCP’s Bhumana Abhinay Reddy could be in trouble, as narrow margins might once again decide the outcome. Additionally, if NOTA garners a significant number of votes, it could further complicate the race for the main candidates.

In Nagari, YSRCP MLA and minister R K Roja won the 2019 election with a margin of 2,708 votes over TDP’s Gali Bhanu Prakash. She secured 834 postal ballot votes compared to Bhanu Prakash’s 807, with NOTA receiving 1,685 votes. Although Roja’s victory margin was sufficient without postal ballots in 2019, the situation might be different this time.

This time also 1,314 postal ballots were cast in Nagari which could swing the election in favour of the TDP candidate due to anti-incumbency sentiments. Notably, Roja’s first victory in 2014 too was by a narrow margin of just 858 votes. The intense competition in the recent elections suggests that winning margins will be slim once again.

Though Chandragiri candidate in 2019 Chevireddy Bhaskara Reddy won comfortably defeating TDP’s Pulivarthi Nani by 41,755 votes, his son Mohith Reddy faced a tighter contest this time against Nani. In this constituency 5187 postal ballots were cast which will be crucial if the race is close.

Meanwhile, counting of postal ballots will begin at 8 am on Tuesday followed by EVM votes counting at 8.30 am. However, the postal

ballots are to be counted manually and will take longer. The postal ballots will first be opened and make bundles with each bundle having 25 ballots. After this process, counting will be started and expected to be completed after noon.