TCN News
185 candidates have filed their nominations in Nizamabad District of Telangana State for the Lok Sabha elections. Of the 185 , 178 are all farmers who grow turmeric and red sorghum.
The farmers filed their nominations for the MP Elections because they want to highlight their problems to the state Government.
The sitting MP K Kavitha daughter of the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar had promised to set up a National Turmeric Board to ensure a steady price of the same. But failed to do so.
The farmers of Nizamabad where turmeric and red sorghum is grown widely have been demanding for Minimum support price (MSP) but their demands were not met.
So the farmers have filed their nominations as a means of mass protest.
And since the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) can display a maximum of 64 candidates including NOTA ( None of the above), the Election commission has decided to use paper ballots in Nizamabad district on 11th April when the Telangana state goes for polling.
Initially there were 200 nominations but after scrutiny 185 nominees will be contesting against Kalvakuntla Kavitha.
The two major political parties have fielded K Kavitha from TRS ( Telangana Rashtra Samithi) and Madhu Yakshi Goud from Congress again this year.
In the 17 constituencies of Telangana there are nearly 500 candidates and from Nizamabad district alone 185 persons are contesting.
It is after 9 years that the EC will be burdened with the task of counting paper ballots.
Earlier in 2010 in 5 constituencies of the state by-elections were held through paper ballots. This was the time agitations for separate statehood were on going.
And before that in Nalgonda District in 1996 more than 400 candidates had contested the elections to protest the high levels of fluorine compounds in the water which was a reason of chronic fluorosis.
There is also a likelihood of change in the polling date in Nizamabad because of all the work involved with printing of ballot papers with names of 185 candidates.