The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : TDP goes without a seat in four districts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 13, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

TDP goes without a seat in four districts

By Y.Mallikarjun

HYDERABAD, MAY 12. The severe drubbing received by the Telugu Desam Party at the hands of voters could be gauged from the fact that the party for the first time drew a blank in four districts— Medak, Nizamabad, Khammam and Nellore -- and could manage to win only one seat in six other districts.

The TDP held as many as 19 seats in Medak, Nizamabad, Khammam and Nellore districts. Among those who bit the dust from these districts were Ministers Tummala Nageswara Rao, Mandava Venkateswara Rao, S. Chandramohan Reddy and Babu Mohan. In 1999, the TDP had won five seats in Nizamabad, three in Khammam, four in Medak and seven in Nellore district.

The districts in which the TDP secured only one seat are: Guntur, Prakasam, Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Adilabad and Nalgonda. In its traditional bastion of East Godavari and six other districts---Krishna, Cuddapah, Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad, Karimnagar and Warangal---it won only two seats. TDP's highest tally this time has been six, in Anantapur district. In contrast, the highest tally secured by the Congress was 17 in Guntur district, where at least nine of the 10 incumbent TDP legislators were defeated, and its least number was two in Ranga Reddy district. Only 23 of the 120 sitting Telugu Desam members who were re-nominated made it to the Assembly while the rest, including 28 Ministers, were rejected by the voters.

All the sitting nine MLAs of the BJP, including its floor leader, K.Hari Babu, suffered defeat.

Similarly, though the TDP fielded 50 women, only six nominees, including Minister Uma Madhava Reddy and Padala Aruna, managed to win. As many as 18 of the 22 women candidates of the Congress won, while two of TRS and one Samajwadi Party contestant were successful. Notable victors in the Congress are N.Rajyalakshmi, Sabita Indira Reddy,G. Aruna Kumari and K. Surekha. Both women nominees of the BJP tasted defeat as also NTR-TDP president, Lakshmi Parvathi, who lost her deposit.

In all 27 women were elected to the House this time, as against 29 in 1999.

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