MLC Election: Cong Gets Jagan Jolt

The political equations in Andhra Pradesh changed again after the results of the council elections.

Without a party symbol, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy played it safe wresting a few of the keenly contested seats from Chittoor, Kadapa and West Godavari. In Anantapur, Jagan's candidate facilitated the TDP to trounce the ruling party’s man.

Even as the results were pouring in with some of the seats going in favour of Jagan's candidates and a couple of seats wrested by TDP, internal strife took main stage in the ruling party, according to reports.

Minister for Tourism, Vatti Vasantha Kumar, who hails from East Godavari district, owned moral responsibility for Congress' defeat and decided to quit the cabinet, as the MLC seat from his home district went in favour of the TDP candidate Boddu Bhaskara Rama Rao.

The Minister is understood to have been placated by others that his ‘insistence’ on resignation may lead to further complications. Besides East Godavari, the results in Chittoor went in favour of Jagan's candidate as well. Officials were asked to order recounting but it was denied. The Chief Secretary S.V. Prasad is believed to have prevailed upon the Chittoor district officials to go for recounting, but in vain. Chittoor, which is the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's native town, was a prestige seat for the Congress, but all their efforts did not yield any result.

Former Minister Peddyreddy Ramachandra Reddy fielded another candidate to counter the Congress' candidate.

The Chief Minister, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, soon after the results started coming in, went into deliberations with his colleagues in the Assembly chambers.

Union Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, is understood to have spoken to the CM and asked him to update the High Command of the results and their reasons.

After the disastrous outcome of polling in the Assembly segment of the council elections held on March 17th, Jagan's group had strategically acted in the March 22nd polls for local body segments.

The former Kadapa MP's camp showed its mettle in the current polls for local bodies in which it contested in 5 constituencies and won 3, as against the Congress and TDP, who contested for 8 seats and 7 seats respectively, and won 3 each.

Also, results in Anantapur district have led to a virtual war between Revenue Minister, Raghuveera Reddy, and his arch rival and former minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy, where the latter is now demanding the resignation of the minister.

Courtesy: INN