Telugu Desam Party on Sunday retained the Penukonda assembly seat in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh as its candidate Paritala Sunita defeated her nearest rival Boya Sriramulu of the Congress by a margin of 18,852 votes in the June 2 bypoll.
Sunita is the widow of former TDP legislator Paritala Ravi who was killed in Anantapur town on January 24, necessitating the bypoll.
TDP supporters attributed her victory to a 'sympathy wave' in her favour and termed it a 'slap on the face of the Congress government'.
When the counting began this morning, Sunita established lead over her Congress rival Sriramulu in the second round and consolidated it in successive rounds.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 were clamped in Penukonda to maintain law and order and to prevent the TDP from taking out a victory rally.
Conceding defeat, Sriramulu said that the sympathy factor had helped Sunita to win.