The Hindu : Front Page : TRS chief retains Karimnagar seat

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Friday, Dec 08, 2006
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TRS chief retains Karimnagar seat

W. Chandrakanth

Wins by record margin of 2.01 lakh votes in by-election

K. Chandrashekhar Rao

HYDERABAD: Riding a pro-Telangana wave, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday retained the Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat in the by-election with a record margin of 2.01 lakh votes.

The ruling Congress, on the other hand, scraped through by a narrow margin of 157 votes in the Bobbili by-election.

While Mr. Rao created a record, his rivals were relegated to the second position in various Assembly segments, except Jagtial, where Congress candidate Jeevan Reddy is the sitting MLA.

Mr. Rao not only improved on his own 1.31 lakh margin in the 2004 general elections with the Congress' backing, but also surpassed the record 1.56 lakh majority secured in 1980 by M. Satyanarayana Rao.

Minister resigns

Mr. Satyanarayana Rao, now a Minister, owned moral responsibility for the debacle and sent in his resignation to Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, but it was not accepted.

Congress candidate Botcha Jhansi Rani wrested the Bobbili Lok Sabha seat from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), whose strength in the Lok Sabha is now reduced to four, compared to five of the TRS. She is Chairperson of the Vizianagaram Zilla Parishad.

Controversy marked the counting process in Bobbili, as the lead swung between Ms. Jhansi Rani and the TDP's K. Appala Naidu.

The Returning Officer declared the result after re-totalling, but rejected the TDP's demand for re-counting the votes registered in the electronic voting machines.

Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao described his victory as a referendum in favour of a separate Telangana. He asked the Congress MLAs from Telangana to speak up for the region, and demanded introduction of a Bill in Parliament for formation of Telangana.

Mr. Rao polled 3,78,030 votes, compared to 1,76,448 votes secured by Mr. Jeevan Reddy and 1,70,268 by L. Ramana of the TDP.

Loses deposit

The BJP candidate and the former Union Minister, Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, forfeited his deposit, as did the party's nominee in Bobbili.

Mr. Reddy and State Congress Committee president K. Keshav Rao congratulated the TRS leader, conceding that the outcome was a result of a strong Telangana sentiment that cut across party lines.

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