Council polls: Six from TRS declared elected unopposed

Hyderabad: The six contestants of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, who were nominated for the Council under MLA quota, were declared elected unopposed by the Election Commission of India on Monday.

Candidates including Kadiyam Srihari, Gutha Sukender Reddy, Padi Kaushik Reddy, Banda Prakash Mudiraj, P Venkatrami Reddy and Takkalapalli Ravinder Rao were declared elected unopposed. The last date for withdrawal of candidature ended at 4 pm on Monday. As there were no other candidates in fray, the Returning Officer handed over the winning certificates after getting approval from the Election Commission of India.

Addressing the media after taking the winning certificate, Former Minister Kadiyam Srihari criticised the policies of the Central government holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government responsible for the fall in GDP numbers and also the economic downturn in the times of Covid.

Accusing the Centre of not supporting development in Telangana, Kadiyam said, "The BJP government at the Centre is unable to digest the developmental and welfare works taken up in Telangana. It is even more shameful with the State BJP turning blind and failing to acknowledge the State's growth. I want to know from the saffron brigade that the if Narendra Modi was an efficient administrator, then how the country's GDP had nosedived?"

The elected members of the Council said that they would work with commitment for Telangana's development under the leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.