BJP’s strong presence in Nzb, Adilabad, Karimnagar pays off

Hyderabad: The BJP won one teachers' MLC seat, PRTU another on Monday while the outcome of the graduates' constituency is still in the pipeline till last reports came in. Komaraiah and Sripal Reddy emerged victorious in their respective constituencies.
Counting of votes for both the teachers' constituencies ended on Monday night. The results revealed shift in political dynamics, with internal rifts within teacher unions playing a crucial role in shaping the outcome.
In the Karimnagar teachers' constituency, Komaraiah secured 12,959 votes, surpassing the winning quota of 12,073 votes. His closest rival, Vanga Mahender Reddy, the official PRTU candidate, obtained 7,182 votes, while Ashok Kumar garnered 2,621 votes. Independent candidate Kura Raghotham Reddy, a former MLC, received just 428 votes. The election saw a total of 25,041 votes cast, with 24,144 declared valid and 897 votes considered invalid.
The BJP's strong presence in Nizamabad, Adilabad, and Karimnagar helped secure Komaraiah's victory, which was further aided by internal disputes within PRTU.
Mahender Reddy lost amid accusations from rebel candidate Raghotham Reddy, who claimed the union had "sold the ticket". Raghotham had accused Mahender Reddy of being more of a realtor than a teacher. Sources said the division within the teachers' association worked in favour of Komaraiah.
Komaraiah, an educationist and businessman, had previously sought a BJP ticket for the Malkajgiri parliamentary constituency, but the seat was given to Eatala Rajender. He owns Delhi Public School branches in Nacharam, Nadergul, Mahendra Hills, and several other educational institutions under the Pallavi Group.
His declared assets, including those of his wife, were valued at 38.4 crore in movable assets and 23.2 crore in immovable properties. He holds a BTech degree in civil engineering from Osmania University. Though BJP's early announcement of its MLC candidates marked a shift in strategy from the 2023 assembly elections, Puli Sarotham Reddy, its nominee for the Nalgonda-Warangal-Khammam teachers' constituency, was defeated. Sripal Reddy won after 18 rounds of elimination.
He secured 13,969 votes, exceeding the winning quota of 11,821. Sarotham Reddy was eliminated in round 15, highlighting the party's continued weakness in south Telangana. MLC Teenmaar Mallanna's supported candidate, Poola Ravinder, was eliminated in round 16.