HYDERABAD: The marathon counting of two graduates MLC constituencies elections in Telangana reached the elimination stage on Friday with the authorities taking up counting of second preferential votes. Election authorities said the results are likely on Saturday.
None of the MLC candidates got the required winning 50% plus one vote in the first preferential vote at the end of seven rounds in each constituency. Telangana chief electoral officer Shashank Goel told TOI, “Counting is continuing as per the procedure. We may expect final results by Saturday.”
While all the parties are keeping their fingers crossed, the ruling TRS can breathe easy as its candidates — Palla Rajeshwar Reddy in Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda (WKN) and Surabhi Vani Devi in Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahbubnagar (HRM) seats — continued to maintain a lead even in the elimination stage.
Rajeshwar Reddy established a decent lead of 27,550 votes in the first preferential vote. In the elimination process after 55 candidates were eliminated, another 316 votes were added to his tally till last reports came in. Vani Devi secured a lead of 8,021 votes, while her BJP rival, sitting MLC N Ramchander Rao, is trailing her closely. After the elimination process, 40 candidates got eliminated and Vani Devi got a boost in the form of another 163 second preference votes added to her tally.
Rajeswar Reddy got 30.2% vote share followed by independent Teenmar Mallanna 22.7%, TJS candidate professor M Kodandaram 19.1%, BJP’s G Premender Reddy 10.6% and Congress’ Ramulu Naik polled 7.5%. Independents and smaller party candidates like Jayasaradhi Reddy, Cheruku Sudhakar and Rani Rudrama Reddy got around 2-2.5% each.
Mallanna and Kodandaram will have to get more preferential votes if they were to be in the driver’s seat and overtake the leads Rajeshwar Reddy had obtained in the first preference votes. However, going by the early trends in the elimination process, the TRS candidate is sitting pretty as he continued to get second preferential votes on a par with Mallanna and Kondandaram.
Poll expert Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu of Factly said that at the end of the elimination process, if the last two top candidates fail to get 50% plus one, then one of the two having more number of votes will be declared elected. “As the percentage of votes obtained in the first preference vote is far from 50% plus one vote by all candidates, including Rajeshwar Reddy, it is unlikely that any of the three leading candidates will get 50% vote share in the elimination state,” he explained. Usually, half of the voters may have voted only for first preference.
In HRM seat, Vani Devi got 33.4% in the first preference votes, Ramchander 31%, independent professor K Nageshwar 16% and Congress’ G Chinna Reddy 9.3%. Independent Harshavardhan Reddy got 3%, while TDP’s L Ramana secured just 1.7% vote.
In this case, whoever voted first preference for Chinna Reddy and Nageshwar has voted second preference for whom will decide the winner. Experts said it is unlikely that those who voted for Nageshwar with Left allegiance and Chinna Reddy would have voted for the BJP in the second preference votes.
“The TRS candidate will be at an advantage due to this situation as she continues to get second preference votes on a par with Ramchander during the initial elimination,” an expert reasoned.
Rakesh Reddy said there is every likelihood of Vani Devi or Ramchander getting 50% plus one vote as they have got good percentage of votes in the first preference vote as there are lesser candidates with high votes at the top unlike in WKN constituency. “Even if the lead candidate doesn’t get 50% plus one votes, the one on the top in the final two will be declared the winner,” he added.