E-Paper
BJP-backed candidates bags 2 seats in T’gana MLC polls; Independent wins 1
The BJP fielded candidates for all three seats, while the ruling Congress contested only the Graduates’ constituency. The BRS stayed away from the election.
BJP candidate Ch Anji Reddy was declared elected as MLC from the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar graduates’ constituency on Thursday after he defeated V Narender Reddy of the Congress by a margin of over 5,106 votes. Anji Reddy received a total 98,637 votes while Narender Reddy ended up with 93,531.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a victory in the Telangana legislative council by winning two of the three MLC seats, dealing a significant blow to the ruling Congress. The polling for the MLC elections were held on February 27.
BJP-backed candidate Malka Komaraiah was also declared elected as MLC from the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar teachers’ constituency.
The third MLC seat of the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda teachers’ constituency went to Independent candidate Sripal Reddy Pingili,
The counting was a rigorous exercise that took nearly 40 hours due to segregation of valid and invalid votes, followed by preferential counting of ballot papers
The BJP fielded candidates for all three seats, while the ruling Congress contested only the Graduates’ constituency. The BRS stayed away from the election.
For the BJP, the victory in two MLC seats is a big morale booster, as the party is hoping to emerge as a potential alternative to the Congress by the next assembly elections, scheduled in 2028. The party pulled out all the stops to win the MLC elections, as Union ministers G Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other BJP leaders campaigned extensively in the election.
Chief minister A Revanth Reddy, state Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud and other senior party leaders canvassed in support of their party candidate in the graduates’ constituency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the two BJP candidates who won the MLC elections in Telangana. In a message posted on X, Modi said: “I thank the people of Telangana for blessing @BJP4Telangana with such phenomenal support in the MLC elections. Congratulations to our newly elected candidates. I am very proud of our Party Karyakartas who are working among the people with great diligence. @MalkaKomaraiah @AnjiReddy_BJP.”
Kishan Reddy, who is also the president of Telangana unit of BJP, said it was the success of the BJP and Telangana. “The people of Telangana have created a path regarding how the politics of Telangana will look and how the BJP government will come to Telangana in the coming days,” he said.
He asserted that the BJP will work hard to bring a “double-engine” government to the state under the guidance of Narendra Modi. “The youth and teachers have decisively rejected the Congress for its failed governance and failure to address their concerns,” Reddy said.
The BJP said the present MLC elections had spanned across 13 districts, 43 assembly and six parliamentary constituencies and 270 mandals. “As such, the victory is significant and it reflects the growing strength of BJP in Telangana. The party is emerging as a powerful force in the state, he said.
Bandi Sanjay said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who always raised doubts about EVMs should answer now as ballot papers were used in the election to the three MLC seats. “The outcome of the election is a lesson to the Congress which is supporting a particular section,” he alleged.
Telangana Congress, however, dismissed the defeat of its candidate in the MLC elections as insignificant. State minister for transport and BC welfare Ponnam Prabhakar said the Congress candidate had lost the seat with a very narrow margin in the second preferential votes in the graduates’ constituency.
“The majority obtained by the BJP candidate was much less than the total invalid votes. So, there is no need for the saffron party to make tall claims. In any case, winning and losing is part of the electoral game. We shall review the causes for the defeat. This insignificant loss will not have any impact on the Congress prospects in the coming years,” Prabhakar said.
