The Congress party-backed candidate Chintapandu Naveen alias Teenmaar Mallanna maintained a lead with 18,565 First Preference votes against his nearest contender A Rakesh Reddy, backed by the BRS, at the end of the final round of counting of First Preference votes for Telangana Legislative Council Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Graduates’ Constituency byelection.
The process of counting of second preference votes began on Thursday night in adherence to the elimination method to arrive at the final tally, sources said.
The final round of first preference vote count concluded on the second day of counting late on Thursday evening.
While Mr Mallanna secured 1,22,813 votes, Mr Rakesh Reddy got 1,04,248 votes after the final batch counting of first preference votes.
The BJP-backed G Premender Reddy got 43,313 first preference votes. The final tally of votes is expected to be completed by Friday afternoon to determine the winner.
Meanwhile, Mr Rakesh Reddy alleged that some discrepancies occurred during the counting of first preference votes in the third round.
Speaking to the media, he urged the Election Commission to ensure smooth conduct of the counting process in a transparent manner.
Published – June 06, 2024 11:16 pm IST
