Telangana graduate MLC by-elections: Second priority vote counting underway

The counting of votes for the Telangana Legislative Council by-election for the Warangal, Khammam, and Nalgonda constituencies is still ongoing, with the outcome hanging in the balance. The contest has become even more intriguing as the first preference votes did not result in a clear victory for any candidate, leading to a close battle for the second preference votes.

The main contenders in the by-election are Tinmar Mallanna from Congress, Premender Reddy from BJP, and Rakesh Reddy from BRS, among a total of 52 candidates, including independent candidates. Currently, Congress candidate Theinmar Mallanna is leading with 18,962 votes, along with the second preference votes. However, the required quota of votes for a candidate to win is 1,55,095, leaving Mallanna still needing 31,885 votes to secure victory. Rakesh Reddy, on the other hand, requires 50,581 votes to win.

In the second preference votes, Congress received 397 votes, while BRS received 266 votes, adding to the suspense surrounding the final outcome of the by-election. As the results are yet to be finalized, tension has gripped the state, with citizens eagerly awaiting the final verdict.