New Delhi: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) won the high-octane bypoll in Munugode, that was once a bastion of Left and the Congress. While the close fight between TRS and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes as a warning sign to the former, of the national party’s rising influence in the southern state, Congress has been completely wiped out.
After facing a stiff challenge from the BJP in the initial rounds of counting, TRS clinched victory at Munugode with 96598 votes, while Congress candidate Paalvaai Sravanthi bagged only 23,664 votes.
Notably, her father Palvai Govardhan Reddy represented the constituency five-time and in 2018, it was Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy who won the election with 97,239 votes on a Congress ticket. The saffron party had only got around 8% in the 2018 state election and now in the bypolls, BJP emerges as the strongest opponent to TRS, while the grand old party lost deposits.
According to report, stung by the loss, Congress alleged that the Munugode bypolls was not free and fair, which led to the TRS victory. Also, with the star leaders of Congress busy with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, Paalvaai Sravanthi had to fight a lone battle.
Meanwhile, TRS' Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy, who was earlier upbeat about winning the election, later saw a close contest as TRS opened with a slender lead over BJP.
While on one hand Congress failed to save the deposits, the margin between the ruling TRS and the saffron party sees a comfortable 10000-plus votes.
After a see-saw affair, with the TRS and BJP trading leads during counting, although TRS clinched the Munugode seat, the BJP votes makes a clear indicator that the TRS, which is planning an entry into national politics, cannot take the saffron party for granted.
Notably, though there are 47 candidates in the fray, all eyes were on the ruling TRS and BJP who aggressively campaigned.