AP Graduates and Teachers polls: Four TDP-backed nominees lose

Four out of five candidates supported by the ruling Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh were defeated in the elections to Graduates and Teachers constituencies.
The defeat is viewed as a blow to the N Chandrababu-led party in the direct elections to the Legislative Council, as the party had won 14 seats in indirect elections from Local Authorities Constituencies and MLAs this month.
Elections to these five seats, which will fall vacant on March 29, were held on March 9 and counting was taken up on March 20.
Since it's a paper ballot and the results are based on the preferential votes, it took over two days to make out the winners.

According to the official sources, out of the five candidates, TDP ally BJP's nominee P N V Madhav won from the Srikakulam-Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam Graduates constituency, defeating Ajai Sarma.
The YSR Congress-backed V Gopal Reddy won the Kadapa-Anantapuramu-Kurnool Graduates seat defeating the TDP's K J Reddy and incumbent MLC M Geyanand.

In Prakasam-Nellore-Chittoor Graduates constituency, sitting member Y Srinivasulu Reddy, supported by the YSRC, beat the TDP-backed Pattabhi Rami Reddy.
The TDP-supported nominees were defeated by the Progressive Democratic Front's candidates V Balasubrahmanyam and K Narasimha Reddy in the Prakasam-Nellore-Chittoor and Kadapa-Anantapuramu-Kurnool Teachers constituencies, respectively.
Balasubrahmanyam, a sitting MLC, had the backing of the Left and the YSRC. He defeated A Vasudeva Naidu of TDP.

Another sitting MLC B Pullaiah, backed by the TDP, lost in Kadapa-Anantapuramu-Kurnool to Narasimha Reddy.
Interestingly, there were thousands of "invalid" votes in many constituencies, sources said.
"We may issue a formal communique on the results tonight or tomorrow," state Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal told PTI over phone from Hyderabad.