TRS leads in two Telangana MLC seats

The ruling TRS candidates are leading in the two graduate MLC constituencies, where the counting of votes is underway.

In the Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy-Mahbubnagar segment, TRS's candidate and former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao's daughter Surabhi Vani Devi took a lead of 4,444 votes over sitting MLC and BJP candidate Ramchander Rao, after completion of three rounds.

As many as 93 contestants were in the fray in the constituency, needing a jumbo ballot paper. Veteran Congress leader and former minister Chinna Reddy is the Congress candidate, while former MLC and renowned political analyst Professor K Nageshwar is an independent.

In the Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam seat, TRS's sitting MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy is leading by over 15,000 votes over his nearest rival, after completion of four rounds of vote counting.

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 are in third and fourth positions. 71 candidates contested in Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam constituency.

The TRS and BJP were engaged in a fierce campaign fight for both constituencies. The unprecedented focus on the council seats has also resulted in a record voting percentage of about 72 per cent in the two constituencies put together.

The MLC elections took place on Sunday. The counting process of the ballot papers began on Wednesday morning. Final results are expected on Friday.