YSRCP retains Badvel; wins by-poll by huge margin of 90,533 votes
YSRCP candidate Dasari Sudha defeated her nearest BJP rival P. Suresh. The party maintained a comfortable lead since the first round. The ECI is yet to officially declare the result.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 2 Nov 2021 10:23 AM GMT
Vijayawada: The ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party(YSRCP) on Tuesday retained the Badvel (SC) Assembly seat in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh by a huge margin of 90,533 votes in the by-election held on 30 October.
YSRCP candidate Dasari Sudha defeated her nearest BJP rival P. Suresh. The party maintained a comfortable lead since the first round. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to officially declare the result.
The constituency, reserved for Scheduled Castes, recorded 68.12 per cent polling. The political fortunes of as many as 15 candidates were put to test in the by-poll necessitated by the death of sitting MLA G. Venkata Subbaiah of the ruling YSRCP.
YSRCP had fielded Subbaiah's wife Dasari Sudha who was locked in a three-cornered contest against Congress' M. Kamalamma and BJP's P. Suresh. After 13 rounds of counting, Ms. Sudha secured 1,12,211 votes, including 139 postal votes, while the BJP had secured 21,678 votes, including 17 postal votes.
Congress candidate and former MLA Kamalamma finished a poor third with 6,235 votes.
YSRCP's victory in the Badvel by-election was a foregone conclusion right from the beginning because the main Opposition, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and Jana Sena Party of actor Pawan Kalyan had opted out of the contest on the pretext of upholding the tradition of not fielding candidates against the spouses of deceased sitting MLAs.
