New Delhi, March 6
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated the newly elected BJP candidates in the Telangana MLC elections and also thanked the people of the state for supporting the party.
In a post on X, PM Modi wrote, "I thank the people of Telangana for blessing @BJP4Telangana with such phenomenal support in the MLC elections. Congratulations to our newly elected candidates."
He said he was very proud of the hard work done by the party workers. "I am very proud of our Party Karyakartas who are working among the people with great diligence," PM Modi further wrote on X.
The BJP, in a closely contested electoral battle, secured a remarkable victory by winning two out of three Members of the Legislative Council (MLC) seats, dealing a blow to the ruling Congress party in the state.
The Graduates MLC constituency spans 42 Assembly segments and comprises over 3,55,159 voters.
The MLC election was held on February 27 in the preferential voting system through ballot papers.
BJP candidate Chinnamail Anji Reddy wrested the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar graduates' segment from his nearest competitor, V. Narender Reddy of Congress. The seat was held by senior Congress leader and former Minister T. Jeevan Reddy.
The party-backed candidate, Malka Komaraiah, won the election from the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar teachers' constituency. He won the seat with a margin of more than 5,700 first-preference votes against his nearest rival, Vanga Mahender Reddy of the PRTU(TS).
PRTU(TS) bagged the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda seat. It's candidate P. Sripal Reddy emerged the winner in second-preference votes. He secured 13,969 votes.
The BJP's win was a considerable setback for Congress as this was a battleground that reflected the sentiment of the state's educated electorate. This election comes just over a year after Congress' victory in the Assembly polls,
Soon after the win, Union Minister for Coal and Mines and state BJP president G. Kishan Reddy congratulated Anji Reddy on winning the Medak-Nizamabad-Adilabad-Karimnagar graduates' seat. He said the youth of Telangana have reposed their trust in the developmental politics of the BJP and the leadership of PM Modi. This is yet another testament to the growing popularity of the BJP in Telangana, he said.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar celebrated the BJP's victory in Karimnagar. He remarked that the Congress government's countdown has started. He claimed that the people of Telangana want a change, and they are looking towards the BJP. Bandi Sanjay said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others have been expressing doubts about EVMs, but the BJP has won the elections held through ballot papers.
- IANS