Can Raj Gopal Reddy vote in Munugode by-poll? Viral video raises questions

Hyderabad: Minutes after a video of Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy reaching a polling station and casting his vote in the Munugode by-elections went viral, the BJP candidate deleted the video that he had tweeted. This has sparked several questions among the citizens.

Sharing the video, Mr. Raj Gopal Reddy had tweeted that he "exercised his Right to Vote in Munugode." The tweet was deleted shortly after.

In the video, Mr. Raj Gopal Reddy can be seen casting a vote at one of the polling stations for the Munugode by-elections. However, as per his affidavit on the Election Commission of India (ECI) website, the BJP candidate is a voter of Nakrekal constituency.

"My name is enrolled in Nakrekal Assembly (95), Telangana State, at Serial No. 141 in Part No. 160," the affidavit reads.

After the video was released, it drew a lot of flak on Twitter.

"BJP Candidate Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy doesn't have a vote in Munugode Constituency, yet he claims he has voted there," Telangana digital media director Kontham Dileep tweeted.

A citizen asked, "Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy's latest election affidavit clearly mentions that his vote is in Nakrekal not in Munugode. Still, he claims he voted in Munugode Bypoll. How?"

It is unclear whether the video was staged or if Mr. Raj Gopal Reddy cast a bogus vote.

When NewsMeter reached out to the Chief Electoral Office for clarification, they said they will not respond on this matter. They also refused to make any clarifications regarding the same.

Munugode constituency has 2,41,855 voters, including 1,21,720 males, 1,20,128 females, and seven transgender persons.

The by-election was necessitated by the resignation of MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy on 8 August. He quit the Congress party and joined the BJP. He is also the BJP candidate for the by-elections.

The election results is scheduled to be announced on November 6.