Rajahmundry: Teachers are being lured with freebies like tablets, gold rings and silk saris by the contestants in the run up to the MLC polls for the Teachers’ constituency in Godavari districts. There are nearly 23,000 voters from secondary grade to university-level teachers in government run and government aided schools and colleges.

The Telugu Desam government announced the candidature of incumbent K.V.V. Satyanarayana Raju. Others in the fray are academician and chairman of Pragati Engineering College, Paruchuri Krishna Rao, and United Teachers’ Federation backed Rama Surya Rao, who was also former principal of Eluru-based C.R. Reddy College. In a bid to lure teachers to exercise their first preferential vote in their favour during the polls candidates are allegedly offering expensive gifts.

A candidate, it is learnt, is making arrangements to offer tablets each one costing about RS 6,000 and above while another is planning to offer gold rings weighing about three to four grams each. TD-backed MLC nominee Chaitanya Raju, assisted by campaign managers, is spearheading his campaign to reach out to every voter to persuade them to vote in his favour.

Claiming credit for a series of Government Orders issued recently by the government regarding the 43 per cent wage hike for state staff, change of school timings and other benefits, Mr Raju is even using official machinery to stay ahead in the polls. He said, “I am going to win the polls with a good majority as the voters are very supportive."

However, some teachers’ associations, affiliated to the UTF and other associations of teachers and lecturers, are against him. They are blaming him for being inaccessible and failing to solve several issues. They described him as a political turncoat and opportunistic for switching loyalty to the party in power.

Mr Krishna Rao said, “The state government is deliberately diluting education in order to promote corporate education, which is in the hands of a few people. I am confident the voters will support me as I stand for values.