Ruling party makes clean sweep in Rayalaseema Teachers constituencies MLC polls
TIRUPATI, ANANTAPUR: The YSR Congress made a clean sweep of the Teachers’ MLC elections, snatching both the seats of East Rayalaseema and West Rayalaseema when the results were declared on Friday. This was the first time the YSRC contested the teachers’ constituency polls.
YSRC-supported candidates – Parvathareddy Chandrasekhar Reddy and M.V. Ramachandra Reddy -- won the MLC seats of Prakasam-Nellore-Chittoor and Anantapur-Kadapa-Kurnool Teachers’ constituencies respectively. The biennial elections were held on March 13.
The Telugu Desam (TD), which too jumped into the election fray though it did not have the requisite strength, failed to make a mark.
In Prakasam-Nellore-Chittoor Teachers’ constituency, YSRC-backed candidate Chandrasekhar Reddy registered a comfortable victory against his rivals with a majority of 1,043 votes. Out of the 24,291 total votes polled, Chandrasekhar Reddy received 11,741 votes while his nearest rival Pokkireddy Babu Reddy, who was backed by the PDF (Progressive Democratic Front), got 10,671 votes. As many as 1,906 votes were declared invalid.
With no candidate winning a sufficient number of first preference votes for a win, election officials counted the second preferential votes and then declared the results. Returning Officer and Chittoor collector Hari Narayanan handed over the winning declaration to Chandrasekhar Reddy at the counting centre in Chittoor on Friday.
The YSRC recorded victory in the Rayalaseema West - Anantapur, Kadapa and Kurnool areas – Teachers’ MLC election too, with some strain.
The ruling party-backed candidate Ramachandra Reddy prevailed over his nearest rival – V. Sreenivasa Reddy – with a majority of 169 votes. When none of the candidates got more than 50 per cent votes in the first round, the winner was declared based on the second priority votes.
Interestingly, invalid votes were higher than the majority for the winner in the Teachers’ MLC seat of Rayalaseema West. Out of the 25,272 total votes polled, Ramachandra Reddy got 10,787 votes while Sreenivasa Reddy secured 10,618 votes. As many as 3,867 votes were declared invalid.
Anantapur collector Naga Lakshmi handed over the winning declaration to Ramachandra Reddy at the counting centre in JNTUA campus in Anantapur.
Meanwhile, PDF leaders alleged that the authorities allowed YSRC leaders into the counting centre in Anantapur without entry passes. Collector Naga Lakshmi said that the police will check on the complaint. CPI leader K Ramakrishna sought a probe over the huge number of votes invalidated in the teachers and graduates MLC polls.
