Former PM PVN Rao's daughter wrests Hyderabad-Mahbubnagar-Ranga Reddy graduate MLC seat from BJP

Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao's daughter Surabhi Vani Devi has won from the Hyderabad-Mahbubnagar-Ranga Reddy graduate MLC constituency.

Devi contested as the ruling TRS party's candidate and defeated the sitting MLC Ramchander Rao of the BJP in a drawn-out counting process of four days.

Continuing its lead in the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda constituency, the TRS is set to retain the other MLC seat that went to polls last Sunday.

The MLC election results have halted the BJP's electoral success in Telangana lately.

The BJP had seized the Dubbaka constituency from the TRS in the November bye elections. The saffron party has made major gains in Hyderabad too, improving its municipal corporation presence from four to 48 wards in the December polls.

Though the BJP had no big expectations in Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda, where it is in fourth position, the debacle in Hyderabad-Mahbubnagar-Ranga Reddy has disappointed the state leadership.

Analysts and party leaders believe that the candidature of late PVN Rao's daughter has tilted the result in the TRS' favour.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has been of late hailing the former PM's “wide and immense contributions for the nation” and in June last year kick started PV's birth centenary year. KCR even asked the centre to confer the Bharat-Ratna posthumously up on the son of the soil.

Former MLC and renowned political analyst Prof K Nageshwar, who contested as an independent, came in third position.

In Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda, sitting MLC Rajeshwar Reddy is leading by a comfortable margin.

TV presenter and independent candidate Naveen Kumar alias Teenmaar Mallanna, who regularly challenges the TRS establishment with his popular satirical videos on social media, is in the second position. Telangana Jana Samithi chief Prof M Kodandaram and BJP candidate Premender Reddy were in third and fourth positions.

The Congress party is relegated to the fringes.

“BJP understands that in elections 'we win some & we lose some'. (But) a remarkable outcome of this election is, the Congress party is wiped out of the electoral ecosystem of Telangana. It seems has quit even putting up a fight. It is evident that the future electoral battles in Telangana will be between BJP and TRS only,” said Krishna Saagar Rao, Chief Spokesperson, BJP Telangana.

With the MLC results out, political parties in Telangana are preparing for the Nagarjuna Sagar assembly bye poll scheduled on 17 April.