BJP candidate Eatala Rajender emerged victorious from the Huzurabad Assembly constituency in the high stakes by-election defeating the ruling TRS’s Gellu Srinivas Yadav by a margin of around 23,855 votes, in what is seen as a major setback to the TRS in its traditional citadel of Karimnagar district.
Mr Rajender, the former health minister, retained his seat in the keenly fought bypoll, which hogged wide attention.
The byelection was necessitated by Mr Rajender’s resignation to the MLA post in June this year, consequent to his expulsion from Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s cabinet over allegations of purchase of assigned lands illegally.
Mr Rajender, the 56-year-old backward classes leader, represented the erstwhile Kamalapur constituency twice in 2004 and 2008, and the Huzurabad seat four times (2009, 2010, 2014 and 2018) on TRS ticket, since its formation in 2009.
In a nerve-racking electoral battle, that was preceded by a high voltage election campaign, he emerged triumphant trouncing his TRS rival Srinivas Yadav, the former student wing leader of the ruling party, by an impressive margin.
Mr Rajender polled 1,07,022 votes against Mr Srinivas Yadav’s tally of 83,167 votes. The Congress party put up a dismal performance with its candidate Balmoor Venkat Narsing Rao getting 3012 votes.
Mr Rajender maintained a consistent lead, albeit with a slender margin, barring the eighth and 11th rounds, over Mr Srinivas Yadav.
He wrested the seat with an unassailable lead in the final rounds as the BJP cadre erupted in joy in Karimnagar and elsewhere in the State.
The local BJP cadre and supporters of Mr Rajender burst into celebrations outside his house in Huzurabad town following his victory. Mr Rajender and his wife Jamuna shared the happy moments with them.
Later, Mr Rajender arrived in Karimnagar town to a rousing welcome from the BJP activists. He collected the winner’s certificate from the Returning Officer Ch Ravinder Reddy at the counting centre in SRR Government Degree and PG College in the town later in the evening.
Speaking to reporters, a visibly relieved Mr Rajender said, the people of Huzurabad saved democratic values and buried the "authoritarianism" and "nepotism" of the persons at the helm in the State by giving a historical verdict. I dedicate my victory to people of Huzurabad, he said, adding that the ruling TRS grossly misused official machinery and money power to win the bypoll by all means.
Hundreds of crores of rupees were pumped in and lorry loads of liquor bottles dumped in the constituency by the TRS leaders stooping down to the lowest level during the bypoll campaign, he charged, deploring that the TRS campaign managers resorted to "intimidating tactics" to influence the voters.
I will strive to serve the people of my constituency to the best of my abilities from tomorrow, Mr Rajender asserted.
