The Hindu : TDP retains Medak seat in bypoll

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 05, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

TDP retains Medak seat in bypoll

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD JULY 4 . The ruling TDP retained the Medak Assembly seat though with a reduced margin in the byelection held on Tuesday.

In a keenly fought contest, results of which were announced on Thursday, the TDP nominee, Karanam Uma Devi, defeated P.Shashidhar Reddy of the Congress-I, by a margin of 6960 votes.

In the triangular fight, the TDP polled 43,463 votes but the Congress-I and the Telangana Rastra Samithi (TRS) also put up an impressive show polling 36,503 and 33,756 votes respectively.

The TRS nominee Koppula Pochaiah was backed by the Telangana Sadhana Samithi (TSS) headed by A.Narendra, who represents Medak in the Lok Sabha. Mr.Narendra, who was elected on the BJP ticket, left the party and floated the TSS to further the cause of Telangana.

The byelection was caused by the death of Karanam Ramachander Rao, Minister for Higher Education.

The TDP fielded his wife and hoped to cash in on the sympathy factor, which was, however, not much in evidence.

In the 1999 election, Ramachander Rao polled more than 67,000 votes and gained a majority of about 20,000 votes over P.J.Vittal Reddy of the Congress-I.

But with the entry of TRS, which is fighting for the cause of a separate Telangana State, the complexion of the contest changed.

And so was the voting pattern. The TDP's tally fell from 67,000 votes to 43,663 votes and that of Congress from 42,000 to 36,503 votes.

The beneficiary in the bargain was the TRS though it emerged third in the race.

TDP leaders were overjoyed by the party's yet another success at the hustings though they conceded it was a tough fight and a close race.

They were all the more relieved that the party had won a seat in Telangana region after it took an unequivocal stand in favour of an integrated State through a declaration at the Warangal Mahanadu, thereby rejecting the demand for a separate Telangana.

The byelection assumed significance as the TRS entered the contest on the plank of Telangana and the Congress, though hesitantly toed the separatist line in the campaign.

Congress-I leaders were disappointed over the party's defeat but there was some relief in the party camp that the TDP's margin of victory was reduced substantially and that the TRS was relegated to a third position.

There is lurking fear in the Congress camp that a repeat of the voting pattern of Medak bypoll in the general election would play havoc with the party's fortunes in Telangana.

''It is a technical victory for the TDP and not a moral victory'' is how the CLP secretary, G.Chinna Reddy, and party spokespersons -- U.Arunkumar and U.Sarada -- reacted to the byelection result.

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