Telangana: Nagarjuna Sagar Assembly segment bypoll under way

Voting is underway for the bypoll to Nagarjuna Sagar assembly constituency in Telangana on Saturday with voters queuing up to exercise their franchise. Polling began at 7 am and will conclude at 7 pm, poll officials said.

Covid-19 safety protocols are being followed at polling booths. As many as 4,000 police personnel including central forces have been deployed for the bypoll. Election officials have set up as many as 346 polling stations.

The bypoll for the constituency was necessitated due to the death of sitting TRS legislator Nomula Narsimhaiah who passed away in December last. The ruling TRS nominated Nomula Bhagat, son of Narsimhaiah.

The saffron party has fielded P Ravi Kumar while the Congress put up senior leader K Jana Reddy, who had served as Leader of Opposition in the previous Legislative Assembly. Reddy lost from the same constituency in the 2018 Assembly polls.

The Nagarjuna Sagar bypoll result would be an acid test for the ruling TRS, resurgent BJP and Congress — with all three keen to prove their might as a win or defeat may script the strategy to be adopted by them for the Assembly polls in 2023.

Though candidates from other parties and independents are in the fray for the Assembly segment, the contest would be mainly between the three parties.