SECUNDERABAD

One of the safest seat of Congress till 1991, is now a prestige issue of BJP and Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya.

Andhra Pradesh's Secunderabad constituency, which was one of the safest seat of Congress till 1991, is a big prestige issue of BJP and its 'son of the soil' Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya this time.

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Bandaru Dattatreya had retained seat with a margin of over 97,626 votes over former chief minister Nadendla Bhaskar Rao of Congress in 1999 in a keen 14-cornered contest. And he is aiming to repeat his previous political feats with aplomb.

It was Dattatreya in fact who, in 1991, wrested what had, until then, been an unquestioned bastion of the Congress. He defeated Congress' T Manemma Anjaiah by 85063 votes then.

He inflicted a revenge defeat on former premier Narasimha Rao's son PV Rajeshwar Rao of Congress by 18,5,910 votes in 1998. Rajeshwar Rao had drubbed him in 1996 by 214358 votes, which was the largest victory margin in Andhra Pradesh.

The seat was won by Congress' T Manemma, who defeated P Babul Reddy of Janata Dal by 14,7,601 votes.