Come election season, bookmakers tend to have a field day. Additionally, General Elections 2019 have coincided with the IPL season keeping bookmakers around the country busy. The scene in the twin Godavari districts with respect to AP elections in particular, is no different. Privately, it is said bookmakers accept bets on chances of victory of individual candidates in both Lok Sabha as well as Assembly constituencies. While this is done behind the scenes, sources say among the hot favourites on whom bets are placed individually are predominantly YSRCP candidates, including party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (on his margin of victory), Alla Ramakrishna Reddy in Mangalagiri, RK Roja in Nagari, Kolasu Parthasarathy, Botsa Satyanarayana, Dharmana Prasada Rao, Tammineni Seetharam, V Varaprasad and TJR Sudhakar Babu among many others. Another favourite contender is the Bapatla Lok Sabha candidate from YSR Congress party, Nandigama Suresh as also the Srikakulam candidate Duvvada Srinivas and Margani Bharath from Rajahmundry. Punters are also betting on the triangular contest in Vizag between former CBI official VV Lakshminarayana, YSRCP’s MVV Satyanarayana and TDP’s MVVS Bharath (Balakrishna’s son-in-law), it is being said. In the case of most YSRCP heavyweights, sources say that the only point in a wager is the margin of victory.

Some bookies are offering YSRCP’s Lok Sabha candidate even chances while others are said to put the odds at 2:1. The former CBI official seems to be a distant third in the race as of now from what sources say. Among other candidates on whose margins of victory punters are reportedly betting are Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and TDP’s Nara Chandrababu Naidu from Kuppam. Both candidates are being offered 1:1, it is said.

The most bets are being placed on the next CM candidate with YS Jagan emerging as the hot favourite with the punters, it is learned. Though it is not done openly, this activity is always a pointer to winners and losers. When YSRCP candidates emerge as hot favourite with punters, it is not difficult to guess as to who would form the next government in the state, political analysts point out. Conversely, when the odds of winning are low for TDP, it clearly means that the party’s graph is on the wane. The YSRCP wave across the state is evident in every sphere of activity, observers say.

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