Amaravati, May 2 (PTI): The ruling YSR Congress has established a clear lead of over 14,000 votes after the first round of counting in the by-election to the Tirupati (SC) Lok Sabha constituency.

YSRC candidate M Gurumurthy polled 28,547 votes while the TDP's Panabaka Lakshmi secured 14,451 in the first round, according to the Election Commission on Sunday.

BJP nominee K Ratna Prabha, a retired IAS officer, managed 2,300 votes while the Congress' Chinta Mohan got 375. By-election for the Tirupati Lok Sabha seat, held on April 17, was necessitated by the death of the YSRC's Balli Durgaprasad in September 2020.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)