BJP upsets TRS in Mahabubnagar

In an unexpected twist to the trend, BJP won the Mahabubnagar seat. The  party candidate Yennam Srinivas Reddy got a majority of 2,010 votes.

Mahabubnagar   Majority: 2,010

BJP                  39,385

TRS                 37,375

CONG              25,308

TDP                 17,506

Mahabubnagar seat by poll counting showed lot of swings from the beginning .

TRS, which lagged behind initially, later picked up but could not surpass BJP’s lead.

This is a sweet victory for BJP, which had to filed its candidate following TRS chief KCR’s refusal to yield the seat to BJP.

Congress and TDP shared third and fourth positions.

Initially, its was TDP which was thought to have the capability to challenge TRS.

However, as the campaign picked up, BJP made good gains.

Analysts points out that the issue of Telangana became secondary in Mahabunagar, as the election turned out to go on communal lines.

TRS was confident that a minority candidate – Ibraheem – would be a great advantage to the party. However, in hindsight, it seems that such a decision actually catapulted BJP into light.

Mahabubnagar has always been communally sensitive, and KCR’s gameplan for once seems to have backfired. The victory is sweet for BJP which has been smarting under the humiliation meted out to the party by KCR in these by-polls.

The BJP candidate Yennam Srinivas Reddy has also made a lot of difference, as he could mobilize support from those sections who are not traditional supporters of the party. Analysts also point out that caste considerations too played a part. Besides, the local JAC too threw its weight behind BJP, which also was a major factor in the outcome.

In 2009 polls, Independent candidate Rajeshwar Reddy got 38247 votes, winning over his nearest rival TRS’ Ibraheem who secured 33110 votes. giving Reddy a margin of nearly 5,000 votes.

Mahabubnagar 2009 REsults: