Rebel leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy dealt a blow to the Congress even before formally launching his YSR Congress Party by defeating the ruling party candidates in three seats in the elections to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council from the local authorities constituencies.
The Independent candidates backed by him have won the Local Authorities' Constituencies polls in Kadapa, Chittoor and West Godavari districts though the results are yet to be officially announced.
The margin of victory for Jagan's candidates, though, was very slender in Chittoor and Kadapa -- his home district -- as they won by just one and nine votes respectively. It was a personal setback to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy as Congress lost the Council election in his native Chittoor district.
A re-counting of votes was done in Chittoor as a Jagan group nominee secured a majority of just one vote. Initially, the Returning Officer Pradyumna rejected Congress' demand for re-counting but later gave in. Even then the Jagan group candidate maintained the one vote lead.
Overall, the Congress lost three seats it currently held while the main Opposition Telugu Desam Party added two more to its tally by winning three seats this time. The Congress contested eight seats, TDP seven and five from Jagan's group and all of them won three seats each.
Kiran Kumar Reddy had claimed two days ago, immediately after the polling, that Congress would win six out of nine seats but the results proved otherwise. TDP wrested the Anantapur LAC seat from Congress as former minister J C Diwakar Reddy's supporters voted against the party. Diwakar had been sulking ever since he was denied a cabinet berth in 2009.
The East Godavari LAC seat too went to TDP's kitty as Jagan's group played spoilsport with the prospects of the Congress nominee. The Congress and TDP held one seat each in West Godavari previously but only the latter managed to retain its position. Here, Jagan's group defeated Congress to bag the second seat.
Following the drubbing, Andhra Tourism Minister Vatti Vasantha Kumar reportedly offered to step down from the post owning "moral responsibility". His fellow ministers, however, dissuaded Vatti from doing so.
In all, elections were held for nine seats in eight districts on March 21 and counting of votes was taken up on Wednesday morning. As per unofficial results available, the Congress won three (Srikakulam, Kurnool and SPS Nellore), TDP three (Anantapur, West Godavari and East Godavari) while the independent candidates supported by Jagan won in Kadapa, Chittoor and West Godavari. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen had already won the Hyderabad LAC seat unopposed.
The Congress' defeat, particularly in Kadapa, comes as a shock to state Agriculture Minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy as he was supposed to be wielding more clout than his nephew Jagan.
In fact, the biennial election in Kadapa was for the Council seat Viveka would be vacating at the end of the month. He is now supposed to be the Congress candidate for the by-election from Pulivendula Assembly constituency, due shortly.
Apart from two other ministers from the district, the minister in-charge for Kadapa had made tireless efforts to defeat Jagan's nominee. There were also allegations that TDP did not field its candidate in Kadapa as per a tacit understanding with the Congress to trounce Jagan.
The consolation for Congress came in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore and Srikakulam districts, where it won the two seats previously held by independents.
Jagan, however, suffered a blow in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district where his group candidate was defeated by Congress. Here it turned out to be a fight between the 'Aanam brothers' and the 'Mekapati brothers', both of Congress, though the latter has been sailing with Jagan now.
In all, elections were held on the for nine seats in eight districts on March 21 and counting of votes was taken up on Wednesday morning.
