Hyderabad: Sriganesh Narayanan of the Congress registered a significant victory in the Secunderabad Cantonment bypoll on Tuesday. Garnering 53,651 votes, he wrested the seat from the BRS by a comfortable margin of 13,206 votes over Dr Vamsha Tilak of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who received 40,445 votes. Niveditha Sayanna of the BRS trailed with 34,462 votes.
The bypoll in the constituency reserved for the SC community, was necessitated by the demise of BRS MLA Lasya Nanditha in an accident earlier this year. The BRS had fielded her sister. The election was closely watched, especially after Sriganesh, a former BJP candidate, switched allegiance to the Congress.
It is also noteworthy that this is the lone Assembly seat that the Congress has won in the Hyderabad district.
The mood was euphoric with supporters of Sriganesh celebrating the win with fervour, setting off fireworks and distributing sweets from 2 pm, much before the results were officially declared.
Speaking to the press amidst the celebrations, Sriganesh thanked the voters for their support and promised to continue his grassroots work. "I specifically want to thank the Congress leadership and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy Anna for recognising my work and potential after several years and deeming me fit to fight this election. I thank all the Congress leaders and people who joined us from the BRS too, with the sole commitment of working for the betterment of the people," he said.
The electorate's choice reflected a blend of personal and political factors.
Sriganesh's reputation as a man of the masses, deeply involved in community work, especially through his charitable organisation Sriganesh Foundation, seems to have resonated with the voters. "With the Congress in power in Telangana, many residents felt that having a Congress MLA would ensure better alignment and support for local issues from the state government," said Sattar Sk, shopkeeper nearing the counting booth.
Key issues that Sriganesh had promised to voters include the long-standing demand for the merger of the SCB and GHMC. Residents have been vocal about their desire to come out from under military control, seeking better civic amenities, regular maintenance of roads, and more substantial development funds.
Despite initial predictions of a sympathy wave for Niveditha, the sister of late Nanditha and daughter of the late G. Sayanna, a five-time legislator.
