Hyderabad: BJP candidate Ch Anji Reddy Wednesday triumphed in the Medak-Nizamabad-Karimnagar-Adilabad MLC graduates’ constituency election after an extended and intense vote counting process.
Returning officer and Karimnagar district collector Pamela Satpathy presented Anji Reddy with the victory certificate following the final round of tallying on Wednesday night.
This latest win signifies a creditable performance by the BJP in the MLC elections, which has now won two seats—one from the graduates’ constituency and another from the teachers’ constituency. The Progressive Recognised Teachers’ Union won the other teachers’ constituency. These elections held on Feb 27 were fiercely contested, especially the graduates’ constituency.
The counting process was long drawn-out spanning three days due to the preferential voting system, where no candidate received a clear mandate after the first preference vote count. The battle primarily unfolded between BJP-backed Anji Reddy and Congress party‘s V Narender Reddy. Anji Reddy, despite not securing the required 1,11,672 votes initially, eventually won the contest after the elimination rounds.
With 56 candidates in the race, the bottom contenders were eliminated in successive rounds, leaving Anji Reddy and Narender Reddy as the final contenders. In the 54th round, BSP candidate Prasanna Harikrishna, who had consistently held third place, was eliminated.
Of the 2,52,029 votes cast, 2,23,343 were deemed valid, while 28,686 votes were invalidated. The necessary victory number was set at 1,11,672 votes.
Soon after the victory, Union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay said the countdown has begun for the Congress in Telangana, with the people looking towards the BJP for change. “The people of Telangana believe that real development will come only with a double-engine govt. The BJP will score a landslide victory in the upcoming local body elections,” he claimed.
Sanjay praised the party candidate’s success, attributing it to the influence of PM Modi’s leadership. “This success is the result of Modi’s rule. Despite Congress party’s conspiracies, it is evident that no one can halt India’s success on the global stage or the BJP’s growth in the country,” he said.
Sanjay also criticised the Congress party’s leadership, specifically targeting Rahul Gandhi’s continued allegations against EVMs. “The Congress has made repeated accusations against EVMs, yet BJP has triumphed in elections conducted by the ballot method as well. Their attempts to conspire with BRS to defeat the BJP have failed,” he added.
