HC: Gadwal 2018 Assembly election invalid, DK Aruna is MLA
DK Aruna has now been declared as the MLA in his place. DK Aruna lost the election with a margin of 28,445 votes in the 2018 elections.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 24 Aug 2023 8:04 PM IST
Hyderabad: On Thursday, the Telangana High Court sets aside the election of BRS MLA Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy from the Gadwal constituency and made BJP leader DK Aruna the MLA in his place.
The Single Bench of Justice T Vinod Kumar also imposed a fine of Rs 2,50,000 on Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, MLA, then TRS party, now BRS party, for filing a false affidavit before the returning officer/joint collector and additional district magistrate during the 2018 Assembly elections.
The court allowed the Election Petition (EP) filed by DK Aruna, who had contested the 2018 general election on a Congress Party ticket from Gadwal Assembly Constituency against Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy and lost the elections. Aruna lost the election with a margin of 28,445 votes in the 2018 elections.
In the EP, Aruna sought a direction to the returning officer/joint collector and additional district magistrate to count the paper trail of votes as recorded by the VVPATs of the Gadwal Assembly Constituency.
Aruna was elected thrice as the MLA from Gadwal constituency from Congress in 2004, 2009 and 2014. However, after being defeated by her nephew Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, she quit Congress and joined the BJP in 2019 and became national vice-president of the party.
