Nandyal bye-poll: Hyd HC moved to take action against Balakrishna for distributing money

A YSRCP leader has moved the Hyderabad High Court seeking action from the Election Commission against actor-politician Nandamuri Balakrishna, for allegedly distributing money during the Nandyal bye-election campaign.

The Deccan Chronicle reported that YSRCP general secretary K. Shiva Kumar, moved the petition against the Hindpur MLA, claiming that he had distributed money to voters on August 16, during a road show.

The DC report adds that the petitioner informed the court that they had filed a complaint with the Election Commission, but no action was taken. 

Balakrishna was at the centre of a controversy after footage showed him ‘distributing’ money to locals, while campaigning for the bye-election. Minister Akhila Priya, TDP MLA candidate Bhuma Brahmananda Reddy and Mounika Nagi Reddy were present by his side.

Photos and videos of the actor-politician distributing money to the voters had gone viral.

Following this, the YSRCP filed a complaint with the Returning Officer for the Nandyal bye-poll against the Hindupur MLA.

The YSRCP had said that the Election Commission should sack Balakrishna from his MLA position, since he acted against the constitutional and democratic spirit.

The Nandyal bye-poll was necessitated after the death of Bhuma Nagi Reddy, who had quit the YSR Congress party along with his daughter Akhila Priya, to join the ruling TDP in 2016.

The TDP’s win came after a heated campaign between the two main parties in the state, with both of them treating it as a battle for prestige.

The constituency witnessed a high-voltage campaign led by Naidu and Jagan.

The Election Commission used Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) in the bye-elections in all the polling stations.

IANS inputs