Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has registered an emphatic win in the by-election conducted to Tirupati Assembly Constituency, by defeating nearest Congress rivals by a whopping margin of 1,16,524 votes. The by-election was caused by the demise of the TDP MLA M.Venkatramana.
While Mannuru Suguna, widow of late Ramana, bagged 1,26,152 votes, the Congress candidate R. Sreedevi had to be content with just 9,628 votes, thus losing the deposit. The TDP leaders' vow to achieve 'one lakh majority', which initially appeared bleak with the low turnout, eventually became a reality.
Lok Satta candidate K. Balasubramanyam bagged a paltry 3,819 votes. Meanwhile, 2,152 voters opted for the None Of The Above (NOTA) option, which has doubled from 1,031 in the 2014 general elections, which is indicative of the disenchantment among voters, over the ill-timed by-election.
While YSR Congress stayed away from the fray, in tune with the practice of letting the kin of a deceased MLA get re-elected unanimously, the Congress decided to field a candidate, thus necessitating the by-election. Former Member of Parliament Chinta Mohan, who handpicked R.Sreedevi, received flak from all parties for not honouring the established practice and also from within the Congress for dumping Mabbu Devanarayana Reddy, who contested in vain in 2014.
The Congress, having no takers in the wake of bifurcation, had announced to retain the same candidate in future elections. Mr. Devanarayana Reddy, son of ex-MLA Mabbu Rami Reddy, along with most of the local leaders stayed away from the campaign, furious over the high command reneging on its promise.
Though the Congress has a reason to rejoice as Ms. Sreedevi’s vote share is up from 2,848 votes polled in 2014, it is bagged in the absence of YSR Congress, the main rival to the ruling the TDP.
