The outcome of the by-elections to Nandyal assembly seat is all set to cast its shadow on the elections to the Kakinada Municipal Corporation scheduled to be held on August 29, according to political analysts.
The campaign for the municipal elections came to an end on Sunday with both Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy taking the high-pitched electioneering to the climax. Around 2.30 lakh urban voters will exercise their franchise in the Tuesday’s polling.
Both the parties are locked horns in the keenly-fought municipal election. The ongoing agitation for Kapu reservations is said to be the main issue in the elections, apart from the local civic issue.
While the TDP promised to give mayor post to Kapus, aggrieved over quota issues even as the YSRCP chooses to keep cards close to its chest.
Analysts say the outcome of the Nandyal by-elections will have tremendous influence on the voters of Kakinada and so, both the ruling and the opposition parties are worried over the Nandyal result.
According to an analyst, a defeat of the TDP candidate in Nandyal would result in the Kakinada voters turning towards the YSRC, at least to some extent, since it would set the stage for the spread of anti-establishment wave across the state.
Since Kakinada comprises mostly urban voters, who are indecisive till the last moment and they would go by the state-wide trend, the impact of Nandyal poll will be evident. These fence sitters are bound to be influenced by the Nandyal election outcome.
There is a feeling in some sections that voting for losing parties will be a futile exercise. These sections are susceptible to be swayed by the latest poll outcomes, the analyst observed.
