Bypolls highlights: Panaji, Valpoi, see above 70% polling; FIR filed against YSR Congress' Jagan Reddy

Voting has begun for bypolls in Bawana in New Delhi, Panaji and Valpoi in Goa, and Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh. While the Bawana bypoll is a trangular contest between BJP, AAP and Congress, former defence minister and Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is contesting from the Panaji assembly seat against Congress’ Girish Chodankar and Anand Shirodkar of the Goa Suraksha Manch. [caption id=“attachment_3964241” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] In the Valpoi bypoll, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane takes on Roy Naik, son of Congress MLA Ravi Naik. In Andhra Pradesh, if the ruling Telugu Desam Party loses, it will be seen as an “anti-establishment” vote. If it wins, the opposition YSR Congress will take it as a harbinger for its race for power in 2019. Bawana Over 2.94 lakh electors are eligible to exercise their franchise in the bypoll in which EVMs equipped with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) are being used at all polling stations. The voting began at 8 am. The Assembly seat that falls in the north-west Delhi area is reserved for the SC category. Eight candidates are in the fray in the election that is being carried out through 379 polling stations. The counting will take place on 28 August. All three major parties are eyeing a victory in the bypoll, being seen as the barometer of their political influence. Though the AAP enjoys an overwhelming majority in the Assembly with 65 MLAs, a victory in the bypoll would be a shot in the arm for the party after successive setbacks in the civic polls, the Rajouri Garden Assembly by-election and the Punjab and Goa polls. The AAP has fielded Ram Chander from the constituency. The BJP, which has just four members in the 70-member House, hopes to maintain its winning streak in the national capital where it is working hard to make a comeback. The other major contender is of the Congress, which is trying hard to open its account after being relegated to zero seat in the legislative Assembly. It has fielded its former three-time MLA from Bawana, Surender Kumar. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues and top AAP leaders campaigned hectically in the constituency. The BJP has fielded Ved Prakash, who won from Bawana in 2015 Assembly elections on an AAP ticket. He had resigned from the MLA post and quit the AAP to join the BJP in March this year. The number of male, female and third gender electors are 1,64,114; 1,30,143; and 25, respectively. The average number of voters per polling station stands at 776. Out of 379 polling stations in the constituency, 311 have less than 1,000 registered electors, while 68 have more than 1,000 registered electors, it said. Panaji, Valpoi The bypolls in Panaji were necessitated after sitting Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Sidharth Kuncolienkar resigned to facilitate the entry of Parrikar, who was rushed to state politics in March to head a coalition government in Goa assembly. In Valpoi, the bypolls are being held after Rane resigned as a Congress MLA, before he was inducted in the Parrikar-led coalition government as a Health Minister. At least 51,000 voters in both the constituencies are eligible to cast ballot, according to Chief Electoral Officer Kunal. The run up to the bypoll was marked by aggressive campaigning by both the Congress and the ruling BJP. Nandyal As 2.19 lakh voters of Nandyal Assembly constituency in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh exercise their franchise in the by-election, they are virtually setting the trend for the general elections due in May 2019. The outcome will surely alter the political equations in the state with speculation rife that defections will start once again, depending on the winner. The BJP, though on TDP’s side now, is said to be keenly watching Nandyal to fine-tune its strategy for 2019. The bypoll is necessitated by the death of sitting MLA Bhuma Nagi Reddy, who won the seat by a margin of 3,600 votes as YSRC candidate in 2014 but switched over to the TDP in February 2016. The TDP has fielded Reddy’s nephew Brahmananda Reddy while the YSRC put up former minister Silpa Chandra Mohan Reddy, who lost the seat as TDP nominee in 2014. “The Nandyal byelection is not about making a person an MLA. It is a vote against the three-year misrule of Chandrababu Naidu. This is a precursor to the 2019 elections,” YSRC president YS Jaganmohan Reddy observed. “It’s a referendum on the corrupt and inept TDP rule,” he said. Senior TDP leader and minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy told PTI that the YSRC has only made the by-election a high-stakes game. “A party president touring one single constituency for 13 days hasn’t happened before. He only made this election a significant one,” he pointed out. Significantly, the TDP did not win the Nandyal seat in the 2004, 2009 and 2014 general elections. In all, 15 candidates, including Congress’ Gaddam Abdul Khadar, are in the fray but the principal fight is between the TDP and the YSRC candidates. The Rayalaseema Parirakshana Samiti, an unregistered political outfit, also fielded its candidate as an independent and he might eat into the votes of both the TDP and the YSRC. With inputs from agencies