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Telangana party takes a beating
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), seeking separate statehood for Telangana, suffered a setback, retaining only 2 of its 4 Lok Sabha seats
- IANS
- Published: 23:35 June 1, 2008
Hyderabad/New Delhi: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), seeking separate statehood for Telangana, suffered a setback, retaining only 2 of its 4 Lok Sabha seats and losing 9 of 16 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh in the by-election results announced on Sunday.
The party could retain only the Karimnagar and Hanamkonda Lok Sabha seats, losing Warangal to the state's main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Adilabad to the ruling Congress. The TRS finished third in the two parliamentary constituencies it lost.
The party, whose legislators had resigned en masse to seek re-election on the issue of separate statehood to Telangana region, had to bite dust in 9 assembly constituencies.
The TRS could retain only 7 assembly seats while the TDP wrested 4 seats and the Congress snatched 5 seats from the TRS.
The Congress and the TDP also retained Khairatabad and Terlam assembly seats, respectively. By-elections for these were necessitated by the death of the sitting members of legislative assembly (MLAs).
The by-polls to 4 Lok Sabha and 18 assembly constituencies were held on Thursday.
In all, Congress won 6 and TDP 5 assembly seats.
The elections were viewed as a referendum on the Telangana issue and the TRS was expecting to win majority of the seats with the help of pro-Telangana sentiment.
The by-polls were also considered as a semifinal before the elections to the assembly and Lok Sabha due by next year.
Expressing the party'' relief, Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily said in New Delhi: "Karnataka has had no impact on this state [Andhra Pradesh]. The results show that the Congress on its own can do better and development is the main concern of the people."
The TRS chief and former central minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao retained the Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat, though with a narrow majority of 15,000 votes.
Rao, known popularly as KCR, had won the Karimnagar by-election last year by over 200,000 votes.
Vinod Kumar of TRS was re-elected from the Hanamkonda Lok Sabha seat defeating Konda Surekha of the Congress by a margin of over 55,000 votes.
Dayakar Rao of TDP wrested the Warangal Lok Sabha seat from TRS. Rao was elected with a lead of 4,289 votes over the Congress candidate. TRS finished poor third.
'Vote for development'
People of Telangana region voted for development, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said yesterday as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) suffered a setback in the by-elections from the state.
Reacting to the results of by-elections to four Lok Sabha and 18 assembly constituencies, 'YSR' as he is popularly known said it was the mandate for development and victory of people of Telangana.
The chief minister, however, also said the results were defeat of the TRS and not the pro-Telangana sentiment. "People have given a befitting reply to the politics of emotions and deceit," he said.
"People have reposed faith in the Congress government and the development works done during the last four years. We will re-dedicate ourselves to development," he said.
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