Lookalike symbols, NOTA fail to create an impact this polls

HYDERABAD: The impact of rebels, NOTA and lookalike symbols was confined to a handful of seats in this election. Voters gave none of the above (NOTA) option a thumbs-up in at least two constituencies even overshadowing the slim majority secured by the winning candidates. NOTA secured 0.73% vote share in 2023, which stood at 1% in 2018 elections.
In Chevella, BRS' K Yadaiah won with a margin of 268 votes, while NOTA garnered 1,423 votes.In Devarakadra, Congress party's G Madhusudhan Reddy secured a majority of 1,392 votes, whereas NOTA got 1,706 votes.
Absence of an alliance between Congress and CPM resulted in the loss of Bhadrachalam seat to BRS. T Venkat Rao of BRS won with a margin of 5,719 votes against Congress' P Veeraiah, while CPM candidate K Pullaiah secured 5,860 votes. However, CPM couldn't make any dent to Congress, including Palair, where CPM senior leader Tammineni Veerabhadram contested.
Car-lookalike symbols failed to swing the outcome against BRS this time. While the 'chapati roller' symbol did not contribute to BRS' defeat, it garnered 2,000 to 4,000 votes in some constituencies.
Interestingly, the Bahujan Samaj Party managed to divide the anti-incumbency votes in a few constituencies where BRS leaders won with a slim majority over Congress. In Suryapet, former minister Jagadish Reddy won with 4,606-vote majority against Congress senior R Damodar Reddy. BSP's Vatti Janaiah garnered 13,907 votes, which cut Damodar's vote share.