BJP Wins Dubbaka By-Election By 1,470-Vote Majority

In a sensational outcome and a big blow to the TRS, the BJP won the Dubbaka Assembly seat, the results for the by-election for which were declared today.

The BJP candidate Raghunandan Rao got a 1,470-vote majority to clinch the seat, getting a total of 62,772 votes.

TRS candidate Sujatha Solipeta got the second position with 61,302 votes, and the Congress managed to get third position with 21,819 votes.

The victory was completely contradictory to the prediction of almost every political analyst.

The Deccan Chronicle even went to the unprecedented and inexplicable extent of running a banner headline firmly predicting that the TRS would win, and that the BJP would come second ("TRS to retain Dubbak seat, BJP to come second").

With the victory in the by-election, the BJP rank and file were seen in celebratory mode, exchanging cheers and bursting crackers at the party headquarters.

The result was of course expremely shocking for the TRS, which was expecting not just to win but to win by a huge majority, given Dubbaka is a strong bastion of the party. Also, star campaigner Harish Rao had spearheaded the TRS campaign.

The victory portends ill for the TRS, given that the BJP has come out of nowhere to clinch the victory in a TRS stronghold, a win that makes it look like the saffron party is on the ascendant in the state.

The symbolism was not lost on the HQ either - union Home Minister Amit Shah personally called up the state president of the BJP Bandi Sanjay Kumar and congratulated him for the victory.