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In Andhra, YSRC retains Atmakur seat in bypolls, all others lose deposits
Reddy polled 1,02,074 votes while the BJP candidate finished a distant second with 19,332 votes. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Nanda Obulesh, who secured 4,897 votes, finished third
The ruling YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh retained the Atmakur assembly seat in Nellore district in Thursday’s by-elections, results of which were declared on Sunday.
YSRCP candidate Mekapati Vikram Reddy defeated his nearest rival Gundlapalli Bharat Kumar Yadav by a huge margin of 82,742 votes. Yadav and 12 other contestants lost their deposits.
Reddy polled 1,02,074 votes while the BJP candidate finished a distant second with 19,332 votes. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Nanda Obulesh, who secured 4,897 votes, finished third.
About 65 per cent of the total 2,13,327 voters exercised their franchise in the by-election to the Atmakur assembly seat, which was required due to the sudden demise of sitting YSRCP MLA and former state industries minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy due to a massive heart attack on February 21.
Vikram Reddy established the lead from the first round and the lead continued till the completion of the counting of votes in the 20th round.
The opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) did not field a candidate in the by-election as part of its policy of not contesting a by-election where a family member of a deceased sitting legislator is fielded by the ruling party.
Jana Sena Party led by actor Pawan Kalyan, also, stayed away from the contest on the same ground. The BJP, an alliance partner of Jana Sena Party, however, chose to contest the by-elections on the ground that it will not encourage politics of inheritance.
In the 2019 elections, Goutham Reddy had defeated his nearest rival Bollineni Krishnayya of TDP by a margin of over 22,276 votes.
YSRCP president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy described the victory of Vikram Reddy as a reflection of the people’s confidence in the state government for its good work and a tribute to late Goutham Reddy. Thanking every voter who chose the party in the by-elections, Jagan said the victory will go a long way in inspiring the government to do more good work for the people.
Thanking the electorate for giving him a massive mandate, Vikram Reddy said he recalled the services rendered by his elder brother late Goutham Reddy for Atmakur constituency. He attributed his victory to the welfare schemes being implemented by the Jagan government.
BJP candidate Bharat Kumar Yadav said the YSRCP had won the by-elections by indulging in large-scale misuse of power. “Several ministers and MLAs of the ruling party had camped in Atmakur as per the directions of the chief minister and indulged in electoral malpractices including distribution of money among the voters,” he alleged.
Yadav said though the YSRCP claimed that it will get a majority of more than a lakh votes, it did not happen. “Though Reddy won the seat technically, I have achieved a moral victory in the by-polls,” he said.
