Sunday, June 5 2005 11:27 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Anantapur: TDP (Telugu Desam Party) today (Jun 5, 2005) retained the Penukonda Assembly seat in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh as its candidate P Sunita defeated her nearest rival B Sriramulu of Congress by a margin of 18,850 votes.

The by-polls held on June 2, was necessitated due to the murder of TDP legislator Paritala Ravindra on January 24.

TDP had fielded Sunita, the wife of the slained party MLA Ravindra, to garner public sympathy while Congress had nominated Sriramulu, a political greenhorn, who is a sarpanch, after refusing to entertain the claims of the key aspirant Bhanumathi, wife of a local faction leader Suryanarayana Reddy, the main accused in the murder of Ravindra.