Congress gets Jagan Jolt in MLC Results

The Political Equations in Andhra Pradesh changed again after the results of the council elections.  Without a party symbol and fielding independents YSJ played it safe wresting some of the keenly contested seats from Chittoor, Kadapa and West Godavari. In Anantapur, YSJ’s candidate facilitated the TDP to trounce the ruling party’s man. Four Ministers were camping in Chittoor district, which did not do any good to Congress.

Even as the results were pouring in with some of the seats going in favour of YSJ'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, Mr. Vatti Vasantha Kumar, who hails from East Godavari district owning moral responsibility for Congress' defeat decided to quit the cabinet as the MLC seat from his home district went in favour of the TDP candidate Mr. 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 YSJ’s candidate as well. Officials were asked to order recounting but it was denied. The Chief Secretary Mr. 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's native town was a prestige seat for the Congress but all the efforts did not yield any results. 

Former Minister Peddyreddy Ramachandra Reddy fielded another candidate to counter the Congress' candidate. The Chief Minister Mr. N. Kiran Kumar Reddy soon after the results started coming in, went into deliberations with his colleagues in  the assembly chambers.

Union Minister, Mr. 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.  In Chittoor, at first the Congress' candidate was defeated with a margin of one vote by YSJ's candidate and the ruling party demanded a recount, which was not legally endorsed after the announcement of the result by the election commission. However following frantic phone calls from the CMO the District Collector was forced to order a recount. Still the independent had won again by two votes after the recount.

Interestingly, a polling agent was caught hiding a bunch of votes meant for the independent who won by 49 votes. The stolen votes were recovered reportedly and added to the main bundle at the counting hall. The second recount spelled doom for the ruling party candidate. Now the independent candidate had achieved a leaping margin of 49 votes against the Congress' candidate.

After the disastrous outcome of polling in the assembly segment of the council elections held on March 17, the rebel group had strategically acted in the March 22 polls for local body segments. The YSJ group showed its mettle in the current polls for local bodies in which it contested in five constituencies and won three as against both the Congress and TDP, who contested all eight seats and seven seats respectively and winning only three each.

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