Everything went as planned. The result of the by-election held for the MLC seat is out. Kalvakuntla Kavitha, Telangana CM KCR’s daughter achieved a huge victory. Though only 16 months are left in the term, the post would give Kavitha enough time to chalk out future strategies. Though her victory was confirmed prior to polls, it was expected that her opponents would lose their deposits and the results were as per expectations.
The latest results may not make the TRS happy, yet they are trying to show a happy front by projecting the win as a bigger one. With this victory of Kavitha, another power centre has emerged in the state. What kind of signals the victory gave? What did it say? This has become interesting now. It has to be said that the latest election result is likely to result in a drastic change in the state’s political equations.
The result of MLC by-elections has come as a shock to the Congress party. The situation is such that the party which claimed to be alternative to TRS, is now looking for excuses. Congress got lesser votes than the BJP which is quite embarrassing for the grand old party. Out of the total 823 votes, Kavitha garnered 728 votes and 10 votes were invalid. While the BJP got 56 votes, the Congress party got a mere 29 votes. The Congress and BJP candidates lost deposits.
The fall
The Congress party had a strong hold on Telangana. It was thought that the party would demonstrate supremacy in the state. On the contrary, the party, which lost in two successive elections is now in danger of being wiped out with party leaders switching sides. Now, the situation is such that a party which was unmatched in its strength earlier is now searching for lost ground.
Switching sides
The party had a strength of 148 voters in the MLC by-elections under local bodies quota. With the ruling party trying to split the voters for the last few months, many leaders changed parties which has resulted in a defeat. What is irking Congress more is TRS successfully implemented its strategy which resulted in the party not even getting 20 percent of the total votes required. The ruling party has succeeded in giving an irreparable blow to the Congress party.
Victory even in defeat
Though the TRS party has achieved victory in by-elections, the BJP must be lauded for its effort. The Saffron party has been boasting that only they were capable of competing with the ruling party, which seems to be true after this result. While the Congress lost 118 votes out of the 148 votes it had, the BJP lost only 24 votes out of its 78 votes. They have succeeded in giving the signals that they were better placed than Congress. While the victory of Kavitha has given new problems to the Congress, it has given a new energy to the leaders of saffron party.
