The battle for Munugode bypoll in Telangana is heating up with four TRS MLAs alleging that three people affiliated with the BJP tried to poach them by offering them Rs 100 crore.
The sensational claim came to light on Wednesday night when Cyberabad police raided a farmhouse in Moinabad and registered a case against two Swamijis and a businessman, who had allegedly tried to ‘buy’ the MLAs. The BJP has denied any connection with the accused and Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar has demanded a CBI probe into the matter. The saffron party leaders have alleged that the farmhouse incident is a “drama” organized by TRS.
money and wine
Campaigning for the high-level bypoll has been disrupted by allegations of cash seizures and violation of the election code of conduct. In a press release, Election Commission officials said they have seized unaccounted cash worth Rs 2.70 crore in Munugode constituency. Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj said that the Excise Department has so far registered 94 cases, made 44 arrests and registered 19 FIRs in the constituency.
BJP has been continuously accusing the ruling party of using liquor and meat to bribe voters. The allegations peaked after a video of attendees allegedly receiving liquor bottles at a public meeting organized by the TRS. Interestingly, senior leader Dasoju Shravan, who switched from Congress to BJP, had resigned later claiming his strategies in the recent Munugode by-election. He claimed that the saffron party was distributing money, liquor and meat to woo voters.
defection
While the recovery of cash and liquor is on, the process of defection between the parties is going on at a brisk pace. while many groupLevel workers have swapped parties since the bypolls were announced, with both the BJP and the TRS having managed to bring in some influential leaders.
A prominent leader of the Gaur community, former MLC Budida Bikshmaiyya Gaur, jumped from the BJP to the TRS. Another influential leader Swami Gaur left the BJP to join the TRS. He was followed by Dasoju Shravan and Palle Ravi.
At the same time, former TRS MP Dr Bura Narsaiah Gaur has joined BJP. Former MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, who was with the Congress, joined the BJP in July.
fake voter
Apart from leveling allegations of taking bribe against TRS, the BJP had also claimed that there were 25,000 fake voters in the final list. After the Telangana High Court refused to stay the publication of the final voter list in Munugode, the BJP’s central leadership wrote to the Election Commission over “continuing violations of electoral laws”.
In the letter, Dharmendra Pradhan, Sambit Patra and Om Pathak alleged that even after removing 12,000 fake voters, 14,000 newly registered voters needed to be investigated. He also alleged that TRS minister Jagadeesh Reddy had threatened to withdraw all welfare schemes if he did not vote for TRS.
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