In Telangana bypoll symbol allocation, TRS sees troubling signs

TRS Politburo member B Vinod Kumar told The Indian Express that the symbols allocated to the unrecognised parties or Independent candidates during previous elections resulted in the defeat of at least four candidates of the party and had reduced the victory margins in some constituencies. Some TRS candidates won narrowly as Independents received the votes meant for the ruling party, he added.

“In the 2014 elections, in the Nagarkurnool parliamentary constituency, our candidate Manda Jaganaddam lost as over 50,000 votes went to an Independent candidate who was allotted an auto symbol that resembled the car on the EVM. Similarly, other symbols resembling the TRS are also cutting into our votes,’’ Vinod Kumar said.

He claimed that in the Dubbaka bypoll in 2020, which the BJP won by a slender margin of 1,400 votes, Independent candidate Bandaru Nagaraju was allotted the chapati-roller symbol (rolling pin with a board) and he polled more than 3,700 votes. TRS leaders said the party lost because of the votes Nagaraju received.

On Monday, as Munugode bypoll’s Returning Officer Vinay Krishna Reddy and other election officers started the process of symbol allocation to candidates from unrecognised parties, a delegation of TRS MLAs and leaders petitioned the officials not to go ahead with the process till the High Court ruled on the matter. Reddy told the TRS that the poll panel had set the process of symbol allocation in motion and on Tuesday the symbols were handed out in a lottery draw.

Sources said that based on the representations of the TRS in the past, the ECI had removed signs such as “auto” and “truck” from the list of free symbols available with it.

Who got what

Kolishetty Shiva Kumar of the Yuga Thulasi Party got the coveted “road roller” symbol much to the chagrin of TRS leaders present there. The Telangana Republican Party’s Nakka Yadishwar got the “ship” symbol while Tagidi Venkateshwarlu of the Praja Vani Party got the “television set”.

“We are a bit worried about these symbols because they have a close resemblance to our car symbol on EVMs and voters often get confused and cast their vote to another although they may intend to vote for TRS,” said TRS leader and Nalgonda MLA Kancherla Bhupal Reddy, who staged a protest on Tuesday against the symbol-allotment process.

Advocate Nakka Yadishwar of the Telangana Republican Party said the ruling party’s objections and protests were unfair. “This is very undemocratic of the TRS. The EC is allocating the symbols by following a prescribed process. Everyone has the right to contest and get a symbol in a democratic setup, why should they object like this?” he said.

Yadishwar went on to add, “I am not contesting just to take away someone’s votes, I am interested in serving the public and want to enter politics. And, one should not doubt the intelligence of voters. They know exactly who they are voting for. Don’t assume that they get confused or cannot distinguish between symbols.”

Praja Vani Party’s T Venkateshwarlu accused TRS leaders of trying to interfere in the ECI’s functioning. “What right does the TRS have to object to the allocation of certain symbols? They are interfering in a democratic process. How can they ask the EC to wait until the court hears their plea?”

Kolishetty Shiva Kumar of the Yuga Thulasi Party, who got the “road roller’ symbol, said he does not care about the objections of the TRS. “Do not underestimate voters. They know who they are voting for. I got the symbol in a draw and now I am going to campaign with rigour. I want to enter the public service sphere,” he said.

The other symbols that were allocated include the “box” to Praja Ektha Party’s B Dileep; “scissors” to Karnati Venkatiah Goud, an independent; “telephone” to Prathap Simha Raidu of the Telangana Jaghir Party; “helicopter” to Nandipati Janaiah of the Telangana Sakalajannula Party; “diamond” for Social Justice Party of India’s Palvai Venu; and “matchbox” for Professor M Kodandaram’s Telangana Jana Samithi candidate Palle Vinay.

Symbols such as the chapati roller, sewing machine, and soap dish have not yet been allocated.

Kodandaram, who was part of the agitation for Telangana’s statehood and launched his party in March 2018, said voters in Munugode were vexed by the high-volume campaign. “They are complaining that none of the parties are talking about the local issues and it has been reduced to optics and rhetoric,” Kodandaram said.

His party’s candidate Palle Vinay said this was the party’s first foray into elections. “We are hoping that people will give us a chance as they know we are more likely to address their concerns than the bigger parties.”

Goud is the state president of the Phule Ambedkar Ideology Mission and is also set to make his electoral debut. “I want to join public service. There is a lot of discontent among people about governance and I think more people who are interested in public service than doing politics should join electoral politics,” he said.

Thagula Janardhan who is contesting with the “bangles’” symbol said the “diamond” was his first choice. “I am a social worker and I am associated with the Jana Seva organisation. I contested the 2018 Assembly elections on the ‘diamond’ symbol. I wish to enter public service,” he said.