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HYDERABAD : A week after the municipal election results were declared, an unusual post-poll drama is unfolding across several towns in Telangana. Defeated candidates are allegedly going door-to-door, asking residents to return cash and gifts they distributed during the campaign.What began as quiet requests has, in many places, escalated into heated confrontations. Some videos showing some of the defeated candidates or their relatives asking for refunds have gone viral on social media, fuelling public outrage.Reports of clashes between candidates and residents have surfaced from Medchal Malkajgiri, Khammam, Suryapet, Peddapalli, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Jagtial and Nizamabad districts. In several instances, residents said they never demanded the money or gifts given voluntarily, and it was not correct for these to be returned.On the eve of the Feb 10 polling, candidates in some municipalities and wards allegedly distributed cash between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 for each vote. Pressure cookers and sarees were allegedly given to women voters. After losing, some candidates — across party lines as well as independents — began suspecting certain colonies had not supported them. One viral clip shows a man and a woman, linked to a prominent party, carrying sarees away. When probed, the woman is heard saying if they got one vote, the opposition got four. In another video, a woman, believed to be a candidate, is seen pressuring a voter to promise that she had voted for her. After the assurance, the woman marked the voter’s name on a list.In Medchal Malkajgiri district, acandidate allegedly visited households soon after counting day, seeking repayment. In Yellampet municipality near Hyderabad, the husband of a defeated independent candidate allegedly asked residents either to return the money or “swear” that they had voted for his wife.HYDERABADDespite the videos going viral on social media, State Election Commission officials said no formal complaints had been received, adding they had not seen the videos.
