TD wins Avanigadda with big majoritys

Hariparasad refuses to celebrate victory due to Seemandhra stir

The Telugu Desam nominee Ambati Srihariprasad won the byelection to Avanigadda Assem,bly constituency with a huge margin. He secured 75,282 votes against his two independent rivals, establishing a clear majority of 61,644 votes. His nearest rival, Saikam Rajasekhar secured 13,638, while the other independent, Ravu Subrahmanyam received just 3,389 votes.

The by-election was caused by the death of Brahamanaiah, the father of Srihariprasad. In all the 21 rounds, Srihariprasad showed clear lead against his rivals ending all speculations over his majority due to the presence of the potential independent, Rajasekhar, representing the dominant fishermen community in the constituency. The presence of ‘fan’ symbol for another independent, Subrahmanyam, also created tension for the TD nominee on August 21, when the constituency went for polling.

The Seemandhra agitation, besides the agriculture works, had hit the polling on the day, casting shadow on the majority that the TD nominee was expected to get in the voting. Rajasekhar secured considerable votes in 14, 19 and 20 rounds thus eating into the majority of the TD candidate.

The rivalry between the ‘Saikam’ and ‘Ambati’ families in the constituency too was a cause of concern for the TD candidate and to some extent it had helped Rajasekhar to secure 1265, 1330 and 2316 votes in those three rounds where the fishermen community have more votes. Emerging out of the counting hall after receiving the election certificate, Srihariprasad thanked the voters for supporting him. He said he would follow his father and be available to the people during his term. He said that he would continue the developmental works initiated by his father in the constituency.