Of polls and reverse sweeps

Elections are keenly followed for the element of surprise they hold -- first in the selection of candidates and later, when the results are announced. Each election produces its share of giant killers. Virtually unknown candidates sometime dethrone the sitting representatives. Sometimes stalwarts are defeated much against popular perception.

Visakhapatnam had such experience way back in 1977 when freedom fighter Tenneti Viswanadham was defeated by Congress’ Dronamraju Satyanarayana. Nobody expected the veteran to lose.

Fortunes fickle

Electoral fortunes are so fickle that a winner in one election is not sure of continuing his winning streak. Bhattam Srirama Murthy recorded a major victory from Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency in 1984 when TDP was fighting the election with a groundswell of support that followed the dethroning of NTR. He polled 3,34,398 votes against Congress’ K. Appala Swamy’s 1,93,968. His victory margin of 1,40,430 has not been beaten since then. Former Chief Minister N. Janardhan Reddy came close to it when he won with 1,30,571 against M.V.V.S. Murthy of the TDP. But when TDP fielded Mr. Srirama Murthy from Visakhapatnam One it would hardly have expected him to receive a drubbing. A little known Eti Vijayalakshmi handed him a drubbing polling 39,387 votes against Mr. Srirama Murthy’s 25,049.

Campaigns and pre-election moods also create some impressions that are belied when the ballots are counted. In the 1999 election, Congress nominee T. Subbarami Reddy was hugely perceived to be on a strong wicket. He had won two successive elections from Visakhapatnam LS constituency in 1996 and 1998, something nobody did before. Rooting for a hat-trick, he was again in the fray running a high profile campaign roping in a galaxy of film stars. But when the ballots were opened, TDP’s M.V.V.S. Murthy made a come back after eight years winning by 40,000 votes.