TRS candidate Meena Upender Reddy was declared elected with a majority of 782 votes over her closest rival, Prasanna Naidu, of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
#JUSTIN || @Trspartyonline candidate Meena Upender Reddy won # GHMCElections2020 with a majority of 782 votes fr… https://t.co/sryeAafFjn
– TOI Hyderabad (@TOIHyderabad) 1607491209000
The Neredmet vote count was resumed on December 4 along with the votes from GHMC’s 150 divisions.
However, the result was withheld because there were 544 ballots with different brands. The TRS candidate led with 504 votes, but since there were more ballots with different markings, the state electoral commission (SEC) withheld the result as per instructions from the higher court.
The superior court had ordered the SEC on December 4 that if the number of votes with different brands exceeds the majority, the result must be withheld.
Late on December 3, the SEC had issued a circular declaring that ballot papers with distinctive markings instead of the arrow cross (swastika) were valid in GHMC elections.
Because voting officials at some polling stations had provided a distinctive mark instead of the cross-shaped arrow to mark on the ballot for voters to cast their vote, the SEC said that all of those votes should be considered valid.
However, in a house motion filed by the BJP on Friday, the higher court suspended the circular. He had directed that ballots with marks other than the cross arrow be dealt with separately and if the number of such votes is not greater than the majority, the SEC can declare results, but if the number is greater than the majority, the results will be subject to final court orders in the matter.
On December 7, the court ordered the SEC to also treat all votes with different marks as valid. He said that since the intention of the voters was clear, the votes should be treated as valid.
The court rejected the request of the head of the BJP legal cell, Antony Reddy, who requested instructions from the SEC not to count the ballots with marks other than ‘Swastik’.
With the victory in Neredmet, the TRS count at GHMC has risen to 56. BJP won 48 seats, MIM 44, and Congress two.
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