KCR re-elected from Gajwel, keeps record intact

Hyderabad, Dec 11 (IANS) Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President K. Chandrashekhar Rao's track record of never losing an election since 1985 remained intact as he was re-elected from the Gajwel Assembly constituency with a huge margin. KCR, as Rao is popularly known, defeated his nearest rival V. Pratap Reddy of the Congress by over 50,000 votes. In 2014, the TRS chief had won the seat by a margin of 19,391 votes over Pratap Reddy, who had then contested as a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) candidate. The 64-year-old had earlier represented Siddipet Assembly constituency in undivided Andhra Pradesh. He was elected from Siddipet in six consecutive elections since 1985. His only electoral defeat was in 1983 in the same constituency when had made his debut with TDP. KCR, who quit TDP to float TRS in 2001 to revive the movement for a separate Telangana state, was thrice elected to the Lok Sabha from Karimnagar and once from Mahabubnagar. A former central minister, KCR was elected to the Lok Sabha also from Medak in 2014 but resigned to retain the Gajwel assembly seat to become the Chief Minister.
--IANS