Telangana graduates by-poll: Congress’ Teenmaar Mallanna registers victory

Hyderabad: The Congress party candidate, Chintapandu Naveen Kumar alias Teenmar Mallanna, won the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda graduates’ seat in the Telangana Legislative Council by-election on June 7.

This victory came as a serious defeat for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which had fielded A Rakesh Reddy for the by-election necessitated by the resignation of incumbent BRS member Palla Rajeswar Reddy, who had been elected to the Assembly from Janagaon in December 2023.

Teenmar Mallanna was defeated by Palla Rajeswar Reddy in the 2021 election from the same seat.

About 2,800 election staff are working in shifts to count 3,36,013 votes at the counting centre in Nalgonda.

In the by-election held on May 27, as many as 72.44 per cent of voters had cast their votes.

Unlike in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, ballot papers were used in this by-election due to the preferential voting system.

Voting pattern

1. First Preference Votes:
   • Teenmaar Mallanna secured 1,22,813 votes.
   • A Rakesh Reddy polled 1,04,248 votes.
   • BJP candidate G Premender Reddy got 43,313 votes.
2. Majority:
   • Mallanna had a majority of about 18,000 votes in the first preference votes.
3. Second Preference Votes:
   • After the elimination of BJP’s Premender Reddy, Mallanna had over 1,46,000 votes.
   • Rakesh Reddy got over 1,31,000 votes but was eliminated.
4. Counting Process:
   • The counting of votes began on June 5 and continued non-stop till late into Friday night.
   • About 20,000 voters did not indicate their second preference.
5. Outcome:
   • Despite Rakesh Reddy polling 4,000 more votes than Mallanna in second preference votes, Mallanna’s lead in first preference votes proved decisive.
   • Mallanna emerged victorious, securing the seat for the Congress.