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EX-PM PV Narasimha Rao’s daughter elected in Telangana MLC elections
Vani Devi, who contested the election on the Telangana Rashtra Samithi ticket, defeated her nearest rival N Ramachander Rao of Bharatiya Janata Party.
Surabhi Vani Devi, daughter of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, was declared elected to Telangana state legislative council from Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy-Mahabubnagar graduates’ constituency, after the counting of second preferential votes on Saturday.
The election took place on March 14 and the counting of votes began on March 17. The results were declared after a laborious counting process that stretched for four days.
The TRS is likely to win the second MLC seat from Khammam-Warangal-Nalgonda graduates’ constituency as well. TRS candidate Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, who is fighting the elections for the second consecutive time, was leading the table during the counting of second preferential votes when the last reports came in.
Vani Devi, who contested the election on the Telangana Rashtra Samithi ticket, defeated her nearest rival N Ramachander Rao of Bharatiya Janata Party, who is the sitting MLC from the constituency.
She secured 1,87,339 votes in the final round after counting of second preferential votes, as against 1,68,520 votes required for winning the seat, accounting for 50 per cent of the total votes polled.
Vani Devi secured 1,12,689 first preferential votes (around 33 per cent). As a result, the election authorities took up the process of eliminating the other contenders and transferring their second preference votes to those who stood at the top.
Apart from the BJP candidate, two others – G Chinna Reddy of the Congress and K Nageshwar, a former MLC who contested as an independent – stood among the top contenders.
In the penultimate elimination round, only Ramachander Rao remained in the race with 1,37,566 votes, while Vani Devi was leading with 1,49,269. And in the final round, the second preferential votes of the BJP candidate were transferred to Vani Devi, who was declared elected with 1,87,339 votes.
It was a sort of moral victory for the TRS to wrest the seat from the BJP, after its loss in the by-election to Dubbak assembly seat and the subsequent debacle in the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
The TRS took these MLC elections very prestigiously because they reflect the mood of the educated voters and a defeat would definitely have its impact on the forthcoming by-election to Nagarjunasagar assembly seat to be held on April 17, besides ensuing elections to Khammam and Warangal municipal corporations.
TRS president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao made all-out efforts to ensure victory for the TRS in the MLC elections. He roped a large number of ministers, including his son KT Rama Rao, daughter K Kavitha and nephew T Harish Rao, into the campaign.
The choice of Vani Devi was also a strategic one as it comes at a time when the state has been celebrating the birth centenary of her father PV Narasimha Rao, the only Telangana leader to rise to the position of Prime Minister of the country. Thus, KCR successfully triggered this Telangana sentiment once again and secured the victory to the party.
Several TRS leaders, including KT Rama Rao, Harish Rao and their cabinet colleagues, congratulated Vani Devi for winning the MLC seat. “It is an endorsement of KCR’s policies by the educated voters,” Harish Rao said.
BJP official spokesman K Krishnasagar Rao said the BJP would respect the mandate given by the graduate voters and humbly accept the electoral outcome. He, however, alleged that KCR had crowded the contest by ensuring multiple social influencers in the fray, which was an unethical attempt to confuse the electorate and split the BJP vote.
Congress candidate Chinna Reddy said the TRS had won the MLC elections purely because of its money power and it was unfortunate that the unemployed graduates were sold out to the ruling party.
