Campaigning for May 13 elections in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and Union territories including all seats in Andhra Pradesh, where assembly elections are also being held concurrently, and Telangana concluded on Saturday evening.
The resignation of rebel Congress Member of Parliament from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has been accepted, Speaker Meira Kumar announced in the Lok Sabha on Friday. Kumar said Reddy's resignation has been accepted with effect from November 29. "I have to inform the House that I have received a letter dated November 29 from Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, an elected member from Kadapa parliamentary constituency of Andhra Pradesh.
Pritam Munde, the second daughter of late Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde, scripted Lok Sabha history winning the Beed seat in Maharashtra in a by-poll by a record margin of nearly seven lakh votes.
Jagan used to sit in the treasury bench next to Rahul Gandhi when he was a Congress MP. The shift, the order for which was issued by the Speaker's Office on Wednesday, came following Jagan's victory in the recent Kadapa bye-election.
Whether the Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's son YS Jaganmohan Reddy will get the party ticket from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency is still a subject of speculation but the young aspirant has already launched his campaign on his home turf.
Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who has revolted against the Congress leadership, intends to seek re-election from Kadapa Lok Sabha seat and says he is not keen on destabilising the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh.
The Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency registered 77.43 per cent polling that is marginally up from the 2009 polls, in the Kadapa bypolls held on Sunday, Returning Officer Sasibhushan Kumar told mediapersons.
According to BJP insiders, every Union minister has been given 3-4 seats to mentor and has been told to work hard on these constituencies in the next 20 months to ensure the party's victory.
Will Andhra Pradesh follow the Odisha model, voting differently in Lok Sabha and assembly elections? Or will Odisha follow Andhra Pradesh, voting in new faces in both?
The opposition party is likely to use this new-age technology to reach out to a wider section of people, specially youngsters who are tech-savvy.
Y S Sharmila's message to voters in Kadapa is brief: 'I am YSR's daughter, my brother Jagan has ruined Andhra, vote for me, vote for Congress.' A Ganesh Nadar listens in.
YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has proved that he was the real heir to the political legacy of his father late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.
Making a headstart, YSR Congress Party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and his mother Y S Vijayalakshmi on Wednesday separately launched their campaigns for the May 8 by-elections for Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh.
The ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh landed in a tricky situation on Thursday after the candidate it chose to field for the Kadapa Lok Sabha by-election refused to participate in the polls. After a desperate search for an ideal candidate, the Congress decided to field Kandula Rajamohan Reddy against YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy in Kadapa, after the former formally joined the party on Thursday afternoon along with his brother Kandula Sivananda Reddy.
Counting of votes for the high-profile by-elections to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula constituencies in Andhra Pradesh commenced in Kadapa on Friday morning amidst tight security.
Fighting the Congress in the family pocket-borough of Kadapa in prestigious by-elections, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday ruled out going back to the party, saying he cannot "throw his core values" for the sake of "power and position".
YSR Congress President Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday said he was ready to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party if the saffron party supports reservation for Muslims. "So far, I do not have any allegiance with BJP. But if BJP agrees to support reservation for Muslims at the national level, I will join hands with them," he said.
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
If the Congress is contesting fewer seats than ever before, the BJP is set to contest its highest-ever number of Lok Sabha seats.
A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
Exigencies of electoral politics and individual ambitions often stoke family feuds and sibling rivalries.
YSR Congress President Y S Jaganmohan Reddy moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the Andhra Pradesh High Court order for a preliminary probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into alleged disproportionate assets accumulated by him.
All eyes in Andhra Pradesh are on the by-elections to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula assembly constituencies, from where Jagan Mohan Reddy and his mother Vijayalaxmi will be contesting.
YSR Congress Party President Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is contesting the by-poll from Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, on Friday declared that he and his spouse have assets worth Rs 445.70 crore and loans to the tune of Rs 10.12 crore.
'Jagan is not in favour of floating a new party. He has decided to wait patiently and see how things will unfold in the days to come., says suspended Congress leader Ambati Rambabu, one of Jagan's closest aides.
Andhra Pradesh will witness another son rise on the political horizon. Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, the only son of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is getting ready to take a plunge and contest the elections from the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency, a family fiefdom for decades.
Barely two days after he won the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat in a landslide victory, YSR Congress chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday launched a 48-hour fast to highlight farmers' plight in Andhra Pradesh. He went on a fast at the Reddy college grounds at Nallapadu, a suburb of Guntur. Jagan said that the objective of his fast is to make the state and central governments realise the kind of hardships that farmers in the state were facing.
The Congress in Andhra Pradesh may complete its term with Jaganmohan Reddy, making it clear that he would like his party to play the role of an opposition in Andhra Pradesh.
The declaration of a total wealth of Rs 446 crore by Jagan and his wife Bharati in the affidavit filed along with Jagan's nomination has created a big flutter in the political circles throughout the country, as he will be the richest member of Lok Sabha if he gets re-elected.
'BJP was always there in my blood, but due to some reasons I had gone out, but today I feel I have come back to my mother's lap. Looking at my brothers here, I don't feel like I'm coming back to the BJP office after 13 years'
It has been virtually a ten-year wait that's coming to a happy end for the 47-year-old leader, who nurtured the ambition of becoming chief minister soon after his father's death in September 2009.
A Ganesh Nadar's close encounters with the Election Commission.
Jaganmohan Reddy hopes for a hung Parliament to 'extract a better deal' for Andhra Pradesh, and says his party will sweep all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Amid a stand-off with Congress leadership, rebel Andhra Pradesh MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday resigned from his Lok Sabha seat and announced his decision to quit the party alleging that the Congress "humiliated" his family and tried to drive a "wedge" in it.
YS Vivekanand Reddy, uncle of YS Jaganmohan Reddy who resigned from the Congress on Monday in the wake of differences with the party high command, has joined the new cabinet in Andhra Pradesh.
Brisk polling began on Thursday morning in 91 constituencies spread across 18 states and two union territories in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections. As people queued up across the nation to cast their vote, there were some famous faces in the lines at different polling stations. Take a look.
Setting aside its differences with the Congress, the YSR Congress Party of Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednessay decided to support the candidatures of United Progressive Alliance candidates -- Pranab Mukherjee for president and Hamid Ansari for vice president.
Two more Congress members of Legislative Assembly on Thursday appeared to be switching loyalty to YSR Congress of Kadapa Member of Parliament Jagan Mohan Reddy.
In an embarrassment for the Congress, a party MP from Andhra Pradesh loyal to YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednesday resigned from the Lok Sabha.
The richest member of the Lok Sabha and YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy may be looking at tough days ahead. The Central Bureau of Investigations on Tuesday submitted its report to the Andhra Pradesh high court after a preliminary inquiry into growing assets of the young member of Parliament from Kadapa.