Hyderabad: Ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has retained the Nandyal assembly seat in Andhra Pradesh with a thumping majority of more than 27,000 votes.

In a bitterly fought by-election, the main opposition, YSR Congress party, led by Jaganmohan Reddy, was in for a shock. Contrary to general expectations the fight turned out to be a cake walk for the ruling party as its candidate, Bhuma Brahmananda Reddy, maintained his lead in all but one round of counting.

However, one of the key messages of the by-election was that Congress remains on the margins of the politics of Andhra Pradesh as the party did miserably and could poll only 1,382 votes, just a shade better than 1,231 votes for Nota or None of the Above option.

Congress met this fate in an assembly segment of the Lok Sabha constituency that had elected Prime Minister Narasimha Rao in 1991 with a record majority of more than 500,000. The result showed that the people have still not forgiven ingress for bifurcation Andhra Pradesh.

Reddy polled 97,076 votes, more than 50 per cent of the votes counted while Silpa Mohan Reddy, of YSRCP, polled 69,610 votes.

The by election was caused by the death of sitting MLA Bhuma Venkata Nagi Reddy’s death — after a heart attack — and the party had nominated his cousin to contest the by-election.

The victory has come as a big shot in the arm for the TDP Supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who led the campaign. As he kept his saffron ally, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) away from the electioneering, and film star and Jana Sena party president Pawan Kalyan remained neutral, the credit of the success was being given to Naidu.

It was a major setback for YS Jaganmohan Redd, y who ran a high voltage campaign and who had claimed that not only his party will win the by-election but also sweep the next elections in 2019.

While the TDP rank and file was celebrating the victory, the defeat l left Jagan’s residence and party headquarters in Hyderabad deserted.

Speaking to the media in Amaravati, Naidu thanked the people of Nandyal for having faith in TDP.

“TDP will fulfil all the promises and will create a Smart Nandyal by following our motto ‘People First,” Naidu said. He said the people have rejected the politics of criminality and voted for development.

Several ministers met Naidu and congratulated him over the victory.