Defeated Congress candidate sworn in as MLA in AP

Hyderabad, Apr 16 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Speaker K R Suresh Reddy today administered oath of office to Congress candidate P Rajanna Dora, who was defeated from Saluru (ST) constituency in the 2004 assembly elections, following the disqualification of the Telugu Desam party (TDP) candidate R P Bhanj Deo.

Mr Bhanj Deo was disqualified by Andhra Pradesh High court last month following a petition questioning his tribal status. The court ruled that Mr Deo could not be considered as a member of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) and disqualified him.

Mr Deo had secured 48,580 votes against 46,088 votes by Suresh Reddy in assembly elections.

UNI AP VV SC HT1618