Jubilant Talasani, ready to contest Sanatnagar bypoll

Hyderabad: Though the elections to the eight wards in the SCB were held on non-party basis, all the political parties had extended support to their respective nominees. The Congress and TDP suffered a humiliating defeat with nominees supported by them hit the dust.

As if to rub salt to the injury, the kith and kin of seasoned senior leaders of these two parties, who entered the election fray, suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of TRS and its rebels. Former Union Minister Sarve Sathyanarayana’s son and daughter, besides the daughter of the local TDP MLA G Sayanna were rejected by the voters. Even a relative of former Deputy Chief Minister D Raja Narsimha tasted defeat.

The counting of votes was taken up amidst tight security arrangements even as senior leaders of all the political parties kept a close watch with fingers crossed about the fortunes of the candidates supported by them. The counting of votes was taken up by ward wise for the eight wards.

The candidates who won the elections were Keshava Reddy (Ward II), Nalini Kiran (Ward IV), Pandu Yadav (Ward VI) and Bollaram Lokanatham (Ward VIII) all (TRS). Similarly, TRS rebel candidates Anita Prabhakar (Ward III) and Maheshwar Reddy (Ward I) and Congress rebel candidate Ramakrishna (Ward V) emerged victorious. The Congress, which had won the last elections, could win from only one ward where Tirumalgiri Bhagyasree won from Ward VII.

The results were declared by 2.15 pm on Tuesday amidst tight security by the police inside and outside the Secunderabad PG College where counting took place. The entire Paradise Junction near Balamrai was chock-a block since 7 am and the police had tough time controlling traffic and maintaining law and order. The vicinity of the college witnessed unprecedented crowd. Huge gathering outside the counting centre caused traffic jams putting vehicles users to hardship.

However, as the SCB elections ended peacefully with TRS gaining majority, the ruling party is now eying on the forthcoming GHMC elections in the mid of this year. G Sudheer Babu, DCP, North Zone, said despite hectic schedule and tense moments at the counting centre, everything went off well and concluded peacefully due to the cooperation extended by the candidates and their polling agents and other representatives. He said the arrangements made by the SCB authorities also helped smooth counting of votes.

The poll results came as a huge setback to Bharatiya Janata Party-Telugu Desam Party alliance, which failed to win a single seat. In the Assembly elections held in April last year, the alliance had won 14 out of 24 seats in Greater Hyderabad. Nine of those seats including Secunderabad Cantonment were won by the TDP.

The elections to SCB, the biggest of the 62 cantonments in the country, were held on Sunday. Only 44.4 percent of 1, 67,936 voters cast their votes. The prominent who suffered defeat in the elections include the daughter of TDP legislator from Secunderabad Cantonment G Sayanna. The daughters of Congress leader and former union minister Sarve Satyanarayana and former Andhra Pradesh minister Shankar Rao also lost the elections.