'Lost Election, Return Money': Andhra Candidate's 'Cash-For-Votes' Admission

Amaravati: In an extraordinary post-election controversy, a defeated YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) candidate in Andhra Pradesh has demanded that voters return the cash he allegedly distributed during campaigning, after failing to win their support in the municipal polls.K Reddy Prasad, who contested from Ward 32 of Palamaneru Municipality in Chittoor district, lost to his Jana Sena Party rival, Poola Chaitanya Mohan.In a video message that has gone viral on social media, Prasad claimed that he borrowed Rs 10 lakh at high interest and distributed Rs 1,000 to individual voters in an attempt to secure victory.Expressing his frustration over the defeat, he alleged that nearly 400 voters accepted the money but did not vote for him. "All those 400 people who took my money but did not vote for me should return it. Otherwise, I will stage a protest outside your houses," he warned in the video.Prasad also claimed that some voters had sworn in the name of the local deity Maremmathalli before accepting the cash but subsequently supported rival candidates. He appealed to them to return the money at the Maremmathalli temple. Interestingly, he congratulated the winning candidate and expressed hope that the new representative would develop the ward. He also thanked election officials and district authorities for conducting the polls peacefully.Prasad further said he had promised to establish a drinking water plant for the ward and wanted to fulfil that commitment. He also alleged that local political intermediaries had misled him during the campaign.The controversy comes amid a sweeping performance by the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led alliance in the November 1 urban local body elections, with counting held on November 3. In Palamaneru's 36 wards, TDP won 26, YSRCP eight, and Jana Sena two. TDP candidate C Rajyalakshmi also secured the municipal chairperson's post with a 3,475-vote majority.After the video went viral, the Chittoor district YSRCP president N Venkata Gowda suspended Prasad from the party, citing alleged anti-party activities.