Jagan attracts betting mafia over winning margin

Kadapa, May 6: The Kadapa Lok Sabha bye-election in Andhra Pradesh is the one everyone is watching out for. With the local favourite and Congress rebel, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy gearing up for a fight to the finish against the Congress High Command with whom he has locked horns earlier, the results are eagerly awaited. But there are others who are keenly awaiting the results and they are the betting mafia.

The by-polls will see Jagan competing with TDPs M V Mysura Reddy and D L Ravindra Reddy of Congress. The triangular fight, however, seems to be an eye-wash since the local sentiments appear to be in favour of Jagan and his claim that he will taste success with a huge margin. His appeasement drive for Muslim voters also stole some limelight. [Read: It is YSR versus Sonia in Kadapa LS by-poll]

An estimated Rs 100 crore is riding on the “victory margin" of Jagan who is the face of the YSR Party in Kadapa. The betting agencies are run by political activists from Hyderabad, Krishna and Guntur districts in AP and others from East and West Godavari districts as well. The betting is not only on cash but ranges from luxury cars costing a whopping Rs 25 lakh to other items like cellphones, fridges and air conditioners.

The betting syndicates work out of hotels, lodges and even gust houses where party workers stay that increasingly resemble betting dens.

A party worker from Guntur district has been quoted as saying to a popular English newspaper, “The question whether Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy will win or lose the polls is now outdated. With just a day left for the campaigning to close, it"s quite clear that Jagan will win the Kadapa bypoll. So, betting is now on the victory margin, and by how much majority he will win the election."

With party activists feeding on the frenzy of the by-polls, the margin for Jagan"s victory is projected somewhere between 50,000 - 3,00000. As the betting principle goes, the greater the victory margin so does the value of the bet sky-rocket.

OneIndia News