As expected, the YSR Congress has swept the by-elections in the state, winning 15 out 18 Assembly seats. The party has also won the Nellore Lok Sabha seat.
The process that changed the contours of state politics was triggered during the
no-confidence motion against the government on 5 December last year, culminated on Friday, with the YSR Congress emerging victorious in 15 Assembly seats. The ruling party, the Congress, was confined to just 2 seats, while the Telangana Rashtra Samithi maintained its dominance in the Telangana region, by winning the Parkal Assembly seat.
The YSRC, launched by Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy after the death of his father and former Chief Minister Dr. Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, has now dwarfed all the political bigwigs in Andhra Pradesh.
In the backdrop of Jaganmohan Reddy's
arrest by the Central Bureau Of Investigation in the disproportionate assests case, in the midst of the by-election campaign, the YSRC was able to win a majority of seats, following a strong sympathy wave. Also, Jagan's mother Vijayamma and sister Sharmila had filled the vacuum.
Despite several political stalwarts, including union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad and G Vayalar Ravi, CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy, PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana and over 2 dozens ministers taking part in the Congress' campaign, it failed to impress the voters. It was confined to just 2 seats - Ramchandrapuram and Narsapuram.
The TRS, too, was able to maintain its supremacy in the Telangana region, by winning the Parkal Assembly seat in Warangal district. In Parkal, the multi-cornered contest amongst the TRS, the BJP, the Congress and the TDP did not help YSRC candidate Konda Surekha win. She lost the seat to TRS candidate Moluguri Bikshapati by 1,562 votes.
The Congress also lost the prestigious seat of Tirupati, which was vacated by K Chiranjeevi after his election to the Rajya Sabha.
YSRC candidate Bhumana Karunakar Reddy defeated his nearest rival M Venkat Ramana of the Congress, by a margin of 18,117 votes.
It may be mentioned here that Chiranjeevi had won the Tirupati seat in the 2009 elections with a margin of nearly 15,000.
In the Nellore Lok Sabha constituency, Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy of the YSRC defeated the high-profile Congress leader, former central minister T Subbarami Reddy, by securing 2,91,745 votes.
The counting of votes began at 8am, amid tight security, in the constituencies spread over 12 districts. About 70% polling was recorded in Nellore, and an average of 80% in the Assembly constituencies, in the by-elections held on Tuesday. (INN)