Did Identical symbol cost TRS the Dubbak by-election?
Siddipet: Did the ‘rolling pin with board’ symbol play spoilsport with the TRS in the Dubbak by-election, yet again?
Bandaru Nagaraju, an independent candidate who was allotted this symbol, polled a significant 3,570 votes to finish in the fourth place in Tuesday’s result. This symbol has a striking resemblance to the car symbol of the TRS on EVMs and ballot papers.
Given the fact that TRS candidate Solipeta Sujatha lost the by-poll to BJP nominee M Raghunandan Rao by a slender margin of 1,431 votes, the votes polled by Nagaraju using the ‘rolling pin with board’ symbol becomes crucial. He also polled 60 ballot votes.
Significantly, none of the other 15-odd independent candidates polled more than 2,000 votes, which is a clear indicator that this particular symbol could have created confusion in the minds of voters. Besides, questions are also being raised as to why Nagaraju, a resident of Suryapet, should contest for Dubbak Assembly seat which is in Siddipet district.
This is not the first time that the TRS has suffered on account of symbols bearing striking resemblance to the car symbol. In the 2018 Assembly election, the truck and tractor symbols played havoc with TRS candidate Shanampudi Saidi Reddy, who lost to Congress candidate Uttam Kumar Reddy in Huzurnagar.
In the by-election held in 2019 following the resignation of Uttam Kumar Reddy after his election as MP, it was the turn of ‘rolling pin and board’ symbol allotted to independent candidate Sapavath Suman, that played mischief.
Suman, in fact, pipped the BJP and the TDP for the third spot, garnering as many as 2,693 votes, though it did not have any impact on the verdict that went heavily in favour of the TRS in the by-election.
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