Parties wary of cross votes

Hyderabad, April 7: Several candidates contesting for Lok Sabha seats in the state are afraid of sabotage from within the party.

Popularly known as cross voting, the inter-party preference of candidates by the electorate, in particular the followers of candidates, can tilt the scales. In the 2004 general elections, the impact of cross voting vis-a-vis Lok Sabha was felt in 39 Assembly seats.
The Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party leader, Mr K. Yerrannaidu, who mastered the trick of ensuring victory through cross vote, is now at the receiving end. The Union minister, Ms Renuka Chowdary, who was accused of sabotaging the victory of Congress nominee, Mr Yunus Sultan in 2004 has now invited trouble by lobbying for his candidature. Cross voting is also feared in a large scale in Kakinada, Amalapuram, Guntur, Narsaraopet and Medak.
Though Mr Yerrannaidu was believed to have been successful in blocking a strong candidate from his own caste getting a Congress ticket, he is facing trouble due to polarisation of caste votes of the existing Congress candidate.
His arch rival and Praja Rajyam leader, Mr Tammineni Sitaram, opted out of the LS contest to avoid division of votes in his caste.
Reports from districts indicate that in Kakinada Assembly seat, most of the Congress workers prefer the PR Lok Sabha candidate.
The differences between Mr Rayapati Sambasiva Rao and transport minister, Mr Kanna Lakshminarayana, is likely to result in cross voting in Guntur and Narsaraopet Lok Sabha seats. In Medak, there is a small chance of Vijayashanti getting the same number of votes polled by Siddipet MLA, Mr T. Harish Rao.
In 2004, though the Congress won Ichapuram with 7,745 votes, Mr Yerrannaidu managed a majority of 1,944 and in the neighbouring Bobbili LS seat. The TD nominee K.P. Naidu got 25,998 votes in Vizianagaram Assembly seat where an independent romped home with 1,126 votes.
The TD candidate for the Adilabad Lok Sabha seat, Mr Venugopalachary, got 1,716 votes in Adilabad seat where the Congress won with 19,837 votes. In the Nirmal Assembly seat, the Congress won with 24,578 votes while Mr Venugopalachary polled 947 more votes than the TRS-Congress combine.