As expected, the Telugu Desam Party has bagged the MLC seat from Kurnool district under local bodies’ quota unanimously with no contestants remaining in the fray after the last date of withdrawal of nominations on Friday.
According to reports, three independent candidates Pulyala Nagireddy, Dandhu Seshu Yadav and Puli Jayaprakash Reddy withdrew their nominations after being “persuaded” by the TDP.
The nomination of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate was rejected as one of the signatures on his nomination papers turned out to be a forged one.
As a result, TDP candidate K E Prabhakar won the MLC seat unanimously. The declaration would be made shortly.
The MLC seat fell vacant after YSR Congress party leader Silpa Chakrapani Reddy quit the post before joining the YSRCP from the TDP.
However, Silpa refused to contest again as YSRC president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy decided against fielding a candidate in the MLC by-polls on the ground that he did not want to give scope for the TDP to indulge in horse trading.
However, analysts say Jagan did a strategic mistake by not fielding a candidate as he had lost a golden opportunity to put the TDP under tremendous pressure.
It is a different matter that the TDP might have indulged in horse trading and bought the MPTCs and ZPTCs with money, but that would have at least given a chance to Jagan to expose the TDP.
And the sarpanches, MPTCs and ZPTCs belonging to the YSRC are now said to be ruing over the decision because they have lost the face among the people.
Some of them are also of the view that Jagan has denied them an opportunity to make some quick money from the ruling party!
