YSRC sweeps Atmakur by election as BJP & others lose deposit

By Our Special Correspondent

YSRCP candidate Mekapati Vikram Reddy won the by-election in Atmakur constituency of Nellore district with a huge majority. While the ruling party ambitiously aims to achieve a majority of at least one lakh votes, Vikram Reddy won with 82,742 votes, setting a record in the history of the Atmakuru assembly segment.

With the death of then Industries Minister Mekapati Gautam Reddy, a by-election was inevitable on June 23. While the YSRC fielded Gautam Reddy's cousin Vikram Reddy, the TDP decided not to contest the elections in line with the policy of not challenging the relatives of a deceased MLA or MP in the by-elections.

Vikram Reddy's brother Gautam Reddy won in 2019 over Bollineni Krishnaiah of the TDP by just 22,276 votes over his nearest rival. The by-election on June 23 was inevitable due to the sudden death of Mekapati Gautam Reddy in February.

Actor Pawan Kalyan Janasena, who has become a politician, is also away. However, both the JSP and the TDP offered their tacit support to the BJP. YSSRCP, which was leading in the total 20 rounds of counting, got almost 75 per cent of the votes with 1.02 lakh votes out of 1.37 lakh votes. Bharat Kumar of the BJP, on the other hand, polled less than 20,000 votes and a share of 14.1 per cent.

YSRC, which was leading from the first round, secured a majority of 15,429 votes in Sangam zone, followed by Anantasagaram (14,094), Marripada (13,073), AS Peta (10,415), Chasers (10,294) and Atmakur Rural (10,285). Town (9,152). The party also won 146 votes cast by postal ballots.

After winning the election, Vikram Reddy promised to work towards resolving the long-pending issues as his brother Gautam Reddy had hoped. "We expected a majority of more than a lakh votes this time, but it was 82,888 votes because a small number of people exercised their right to vote," he said.

Describing it as a moral victory for the BJP, Bharat Kumar said the ruling party had mobilized all resources, including ministers, MLAs and senior leaders, to win the elections. "It simply came to our notice then. Our vote share has improved from 1.33 percent in 2019 to 14.1 percent in 2022.