The ruling YSR Congress has established a clear lead of over 14,000 votes after the first round of counting in the by-election to the Tirupati (SC) Lok Sabha constituency.
YSRC candidate M Gurumurthy polled 28,547 votes while the TDP's Panabaka Lakshmi secured 14,451 in the first round, according to the Election Commission on Sunday.
BJP nominee K Ratna Prabha, a retired IAS officer, managed 2,300 votes while the Congress' Chinta Mohan got 375.
By-election for the Tirupati Lok Sabha seat, held on April 17, was necessitated by the death of the YSRC's Balli Durgaprasad in September 2020.