Counting of votes begins in Munugode bye-poll in Telangana

The counting of votes polled in the high-stakes bye-poll to the Munugode Assembly constituency in Nalgonda district of Telangana began on Sunday, November 6 amid tight security. Three-layered security has been provided at the counting hall at Nalgonda, official sources said. The process began at 8 am, with postal ballots being counted first, followed by EVM counting at 8.30 am. Counting would be completed in 15 rounds. The result is expected to be out in the afternoon. Over 93% polling was reported in the bye-poll held on November 3.

The bye-poll has been necessitated by the resignation of sitting Congress MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy from the party in August. He has joined the BJP and is seeking re-election. While 47 candidates were in the fray, the primary contest was confined to Raj Gopal Reddy (BJP), former MLA Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy of TRS and Congress's Palvai Sravanthi.

The bye-poll has assumed immense political significance as the winner would have an edge over others ahead of next year's Legislative Assembly polls in Telangana. The TRS, recently renamed Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), aims to demonstrate its dominance in state politics and go national with a big win here. The BJP, meanwhile, hopes to give a push to its plans to emerge as the alternative to the TRS with a victory in Munugode.

The saffron party is on a high following its victories in Dubbak and Huzurabad Assembly bye-polls and also the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election during the last two years. For the beleaguered Congress, it is almost a do-or-die battle in view of its below-par performances in the 2014 and 2018 Assembly elections and the subsequent bye-polls. If the Congress loses, it would be a double whammy for the party as Munugode was its sitting seat.

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