SANGAREDDY: Proving yet again that it is invincible, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has won from Narayankhed Assembly constituency in the byelection, by a margin of more than 50,000 votes, on Tuesday.
Not only did the ruling party end the Congress dominance in the constituency but also decimated its arch rival TDP. The victory was attributed to Irrigation minister T Harish Rao as Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had entrusted him with the task of leading the campaign. The poll result came as a morale booster for TRS as the party continued its track record of winning all the bypolls that it contested since its inception. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of Congress MLA Kista Reddy. TRS candidate Bhoopal Reddy won by a majority of 53,625 votes over Kista Reddy’s son Sanjeeva Reddy, who represented the Congress.
While Bhoopal Reddy polled 93,076 votes, Congress candidate Sanjeeva Reddy could obtain only 39,451 votes. TDP candidate Vijaypal Reddy finished a distant third with 14,787 votes.
Right from the first round of counting, the car (TRS’ poll symbol) started racing to the victory leaving Congress and TDP miles behind.
Narayankhed was represented by Kishta Reddy and Congress leader Suresh Shetkar for years. After the death of Kishta Reddy, Congress banked on the sympathy factor and fielded his son Sanjeev Reddy. But Harish Rao relied on development mantra which helped the party win people’s hearts. The only face-saver for the Congress was that it could secure its deposit, unlike in the Warangal Lok Sabha byelection.
TDP’s Vijaypal Reddy, a former MLA, had always polled around 40,000 votes, even when he lost elections. But the result this time came as a big shock to him as the party could poll only 14,787 votes. Narayankhed is one of the most backward constituencies in the state in terms of social progress, economy and literacy. The people of Narayankhed gave their mandate for development works taken up by the government, the TRS claimed. For the first time since 1962, about 82 per cent of polling was registered in this constituency. TRS leaders said people supported the party above caste, religion and regional differences.