Hyderabad: BJP-backed candidate C Anji Reddy won the election to Medak-Karimnagar-Nizamabad-Adilabas Graduates’ MLC constituency against his nearest rival and Congress-backed V Narender Reddy.
Anji Reddy won after counting for the second preferential votes concluded on Wednesday, March 5.
BJP workers were on cloud nine after the victory, just two days after the party-backed candidate Malka Komaraiah secured the Nalgonda-Khammam-Warangal Teachers’ MLC constituency seat.
With this victory, BJP is hoping to assert its strength in 42 Assembly constituencies, 6 Lok Sabha segments, 13 districts and 217 mandals in northern Telangana.
BJP candidates won 7 MLA and 2 MP seats in northern Telangana in the 2023 Assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
About Anji Reddy
Anji Reddy is a businessman who is a resident of Ramachandrapuram in Patancheru assembly constituency. He had expected the ticket to contest from Patancheru in the 2023 assembly election, but was not accommodated. His wife is the president of BJP in Sangareddy district, though BJP has been claiming that it is against family rule. He has been running SR Trust and doing some social service.
How the BJP candidate won
Out of the 2,24,000 votes polled, 1,11,627 votes were required to be polled by the winner.
After the first preferential votes were counted, 53 out of the total 56 candidates who contested got eliminated. Of the remaining 3 were Ani Reddy of BJP, Narender Reddy of Congress, and Prasanna Harikrishna of BSP.
After the second preferential votes were counted, Prasanna Harikrishna, who came third, had secured around 63,000 votes. He was to be eliminated in the round to be followed, and his votes could be split between BJP and Congress candidates as part of the voters’ preferential votes.
Congress’ candidate Narender Reddy was expecting that he would sail through that round by gaining more votes than the BJP candidate, but it didn’t happen. Anji Reddy, who was in the lead by 4,991 votes after the end of the first preferential votes round, continued his lead by around 5,500 votes after the second preferential votes were polled.
Narender Reddy contended that the third preferential votes be counted, but the returning officer Pamela Satpathy explained to him that in a situation where only two candidates are left after the elimination of all the candidates, the one polling more votes would be declared as the winner.
Hence, BJP candidate Anji Reddy won the election though he polled around 90,000 votes (according to Union minister of home affairs Bandi Sanjay), though he couldn’t get 1,11,627 votes.
Narrender Reddy left the counting arena dejected, and when the media questioned about what had happened, he tried to contain tears from rolling out of his eyes. He told the media that he would hold a press meet on Thursday to explain.
Around 95% of the total votes polled, were polled in favour of the top three candidates (BJP, Congress and BSP).
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