TRS Wins 3 Rajya Sabha seats

As expected, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has bagged all three Rajya Sabha seats for which polling was held on Friday.

TRS candidates B Prakash, J Santosh Kumar and AB Lingaiah Yadav were declared elected to the Upper House after the counting of votes on Friday evening. Of 117 MLAs, 108 has exercised their franchised. While TRS candidate Lingaiah Yadav got 33 votes, two other candidates Prakash and Santosh Kumar got 32 votes each. Congress candidate and former union minister P. Balram Naik got just 10 votes.

Congress leaders Komatireddy Venkatreddy and S.A. Sampath Kumar were expelled from the Assembly on March 13 following their alleged involvement in an incident that injured Council Chairman Swamy Goud on March 12. Therefore, their names were deleted from the voters' list. BJP, TDP and CPI (M) did not participate in the elections. All seven members of MIM voted in favour of TRS. Kodangal MLA A. Revanth Reddy, who recently joined Congress from TDP, also stayed away from elections as he had already submitted his resignation although it is yet to be accepted.

The authorities have rejected the vote of Independent MLA Madhava Reddy who voted in favour of Congress candidate. He has reportedly shown his ballot paper to Congress polling agent and therefore, on a complaint lodged by TRS agent, the Returning Officer rejected his vote.

The Congress has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India seeking disqualification of seven MLAs who voted in favour of TRS in violation of party Whip.

The polling was held in Assembly's Committee Hall from 9 am to 4 pm. While Finance Minister Etala Rajender was the first to cast his vote, Congress MLA T. Jeevan Reddy was the last one to exercise his franchise.