The ruling TRS has always been touchy about any election symbol that has close resemblance to its election symbol. It is worried that any symbol that looks even remotely like a car could cut into its votes. Even in the Nagarjunasagar bypolls, there are two symbols that could end up confusing the voters, especially the old and the people with poor vision.
In the Nagarjunasagar bypolls, there are two independent candidates who were given tractor and road roller as election symbols. Another candidate got chapathi maker as his election symbol. These three symbols look similar to the car symbol of the ruling TRS. The TRS is apprehensive that illiterates and those with vision problems might confuse these symbols with the car symbol and might vote for them. This could affect the overall outcome of the Nagarjunasagar bypoll.
In fact, TRS thinking heads feel that such similar looking symbols had played havoc in the past. For instance, in Dubbak, independent Bandaru Nagaraju got close to 3500 votes. His symbol was chapathi maker, which from a distance could be confused with the car symbol. The victory margin of BJP candidate Raghunandan Rao was just 1118 votes. The TRS feels that Nagaraju got so many votes only because some TRS voters mistook chapatti maker to the car symbol. TRS also argues that Uttam Kumar Reddy could not have won from Huzurnagar if there was no independent candidate with a road-roller symbol. Many voters mistook road roller to be a car and voted for the independent. As a result, Uttam Kumar Reddy scraped through. Soon after the assembly elections, the TRS has demanded that these symbols should be removed from the list of symbols for independents as they could leave the TRS voters confused. But, the Election Commission has allotted the very same symbols this time too.
In the Nagarjunasagar bypolls, there are two independent candidates who were given tractor and road roller as election symbols. Another candidate got chapathi maker as his election symbol. These three symbols look similar to the car symbol of the ruling TRS. The TRS is apprehensive that illiterates and those with vision problems might confuse these symbols with the car symbol and might vote for them. This could affect the overall outcome of the Nagarjunasagar bypoll.
In fact, TRS thinking heads feel that such similar looking symbols had played havoc in the past. For instance, in Dubbak, independent Bandaru Nagaraju got close to 3500 votes. His symbol was chapathi maker, which from a distance could be confused with the car symbol. The victory margin of BJP candidate Raghunandan Rao was just 1118 votes. The TRS feels that Nagaraju got so many votes only because some TRS voters mistook chapatti maker to the car symbol. TRS also argues that Uttam Kumar Reddy could not have won from Huzurnagar if there was no independent candidate with a road-roller symbol. Many voters mistook road roller to be a car and voted for the independent. As a result, Uttam Kumar Reddy scraped through. Soon after the assembly elections, the TRS has demanded that these symbols should be removed from the list of symbols for independents as they could leave the TRS voters confused. But, the Election Commission has allotted the very same symbols this time too.