Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh:
The Congress chose the wrong guy to mess with.
In Kadapa, long devoted to his father, the late YSR Reddy, Jagan Mohan today won the Lok Sabha by-election with a record margin of more than five lakh votes. Those who opposed him - Mysoora Reddy of the Telugu Desam Party and DL Ravindra Reddy of the Congress - lost their deposit.
"Jagan has hit Sonia for a six. And this is what's going to happen all over Andhra," said one voter. A sentiment that the Congress will find tough to stomach.
Early last year, the party had made it clear that it had little patience for his public revolt against K Rosaiah, who took over as Chief Minister when YSR died in a helicopter crash in September 2009. Jagan had aspired to be named his father's successor. Time and again, the party made it clear that was unlikely. On a TV channel owned by him, reports criticised Rahul and Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister.
And in November, Jagan quit the Congress, accusing it of humiliating his mother and himself. He launched his own party, named YSR Congress Party. And today, YSR's widow, Vijayalakshmi, won the Pulivendula assembly seat with another record margin of 85,000 votes.
It's not as if the adoration heaped upon Jagan Mohan in this part of Andhra Pradesh has been a private affair. In a much-publicised tour, he visited villages last year, drawing humongous crowds. The Congress ordered him to stop what was clearly a show of strength. After violence erupted in a village when he tried to enter Telangana, Jagan suspended his tour briefly and then began his road show again.
He had said in the past that he did not want to destabilise the Congress government in the state that's headed now by Kiran Kumar Reddy. Today, however, there was no politically-correct agenda. "The people want to see this government toppled," he said. Many - including some for the Congress who have chosen to support him at his public appearances - believe he may just be the man to do that.
In Kadapa, long devoted to his father, the late YSR Reddy, Jagan Mohan today won the Lok Sabha by-election with a record margin of more than five lakh votes. Those who opposed him - Mysoora Reddy of the Telugu Desam Party and DL Ravindra Reddy of the Congress - lost their deposit.
"Jagan has hit Sonia for a six. And this is what's going to happen all over Andhra," said one voter. A sentiment that the Congress will find tough to stomach.
Early last year, the party had made it clear that it had little patience for his public revolt against K Rosaiah, who took over as Chief Minister when YSR died in a helicopter crash in September 2009. Jagan had aspired to be named his father's successor. Time and again, the party made it clear that was unlikely. On a TV channel owned by him, reports criticised Rahul and Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister.
And in November, Jagan quit the Congress, accusing it of humiliating his mother and himself. He launched his own party, named YSR Congress Party. And today, YSR's widow, Vijayalakshmi, won the Pulivendula assembly seat with another record margin of 85,000 votes.
It's not as if the adoration heaped upon Jagan Mohan in this part of Andhra Pradesh has been a private affair. In a much-publicised tour, he visited villages last year, drawing humongous crowds. The Congress ordered him to stop what was clearly a show of strength. After violence erupted in a village when he tried to enter Telangana, Jagan suspended his tour briefly and then began his road show again.
He had said in the past that he did not want to destabilise the Congress government in the state that's headed now by Kiran Kumar Reddy. Today, however, there was no politically-correct agenda. "The people want to see this government toppled," he said. Many - including some for the Congress who have chosen to support him at his public appearances - believe he may just be the man to do that.
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