Chief Minister Jagan Reddy by 2014, says sister SharmilaOn a day when the YSR Congress swept the by-polls in Andhra Pradesh, mother YS Vijaya and sister Sharmila met Jagan Mohan Reddy at Hyderabad's Chanchaguda jail. Speaking to NDTV, his mother said she hoped her son would be out soon.
YSR Congress has won 15 of the 18 seats has not even spared the Congress its Nellore Lok Sabha seat.
Jagan's YSR Congress wins 15 of 18 seats in Andhra Pradesh Assembly by-poll.
Congress manages just 2 seats.
TRS wins the lone seat in Telangana -Parkal.
Jagan's sister Sharmila, says,"Jagan will be CM latest by 2014. I will not come into active politics."
Mother YS Vijayamma says, "I will take care of party affairs till Jagan comes out. I am confident he will be out soon."
The margin has come down in the lone assembly seat in Telangana. TRS leads by a few hundred votes over YSR Congress. Will Jagan manage to win this seat in Telangana?
Major setback for Congress: T Subbirami Reddy loses Nellore Lok Sabha seat to YSR candidate Makepati Rajamohan Reddy
Signs of a Jagan sweep in Andhra PradeshJagan Mohan Reddy's party the YSR Congress is celebrating big. As largely predicted, it has won in eight seats and is leading in eight of the 18 assembly seats for which by-elections were held this week. Jagan Reddy is in a Hyderabad jail on corruption charges.
YSR Congress has won 4 ofthe 5 seats for which results have been declared.
- Macherla
- Polavaram
- Prathipadu
- Yemmiganur
Congress wins Narasapuram.
YSR Congress' Mekathoti Sucharitha wins Prathipadu. YSR Congress has won 2 of the 18 seats. K. Chenna Kesava Reddy won from Yemmiganur.
Jagan's YSR Congress is currently leading in 13 seats.
HYDERABAD Jagan Mohan Reddy's party the YSR Congress would have had the confetti ready. As largely predicted, it is leading in 15 of the 18 assembly seats for which by-elections were held this week and the big celebrations have begun. Mr Reddy is said to be watching closely in jail, where he has been lodged for three weeks now on corruption charges.
Also watching the results closely is Kiran Kumar Reddy, the one Congress chief minister who has not rushed to Delhi on urgent summons from the party high command. He is in Hyderabad, reportedly analysing vote share and other political health parameters that emerge from these crucial by-election to 18 assembly and one Lok Sabha seat. His party which held 16 of these seats till December last year, is leading only in one. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is expectedly leading in the one Telangana seat of Parkal and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is ahead in one.
Jagan Reddy has accused both the Congress and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party of being afraid of the rise of a third force in the state. Indeed, if leads turn into results today, the dynamics of Andhra Pradesh politics would have changed. Assembly elections are due in the state in 2014.(Who is Jagan Mohan Reddy?)
In 16 of the 18 assembly seats that will be decided today, by-elections are being held because the sitting Congress MLAs were disqualified by the Assembly Speaker for switching loyalties to the YSR Congress and voting against the Congress government during a no-trust vote in December last year. Every seat that Jagan wins of these will be eat into the Congress' thin majority in the Andhra assembly. The Kiran Kumar Reddy-led government has 151 seats in the 294-member Assembly; the hallway mark is at 148.
But, it is not a collapse of government that the Congress fears as an outcome of today's results. At this point the TDP is also not mid-term election ready and is unlikely to try and topple the government. Jagan Reddy himself has said he does not expect the government to fall. Kiran Kumar Reddy's worst nightmare is the possibility of a mass exodus from his party into the Jagan camp. Jagan Reddy is the son of the very popular former chief minister YSR Reddy, who died in a chopper crash in 2009. Some of his die-hard loyalists switched camp when his son broke away from the Congress. Jagan claims many others are just waiting to cross over. The TDP too faces that threat.
The Congress's one big weapon against Jagan Reddy, and which it can be expected to put to aggressive use to try and puncture his spectacular win are the corruption charges against him. The CBI is investigating how Mr Reddy became on of the richest MPs in the country. There are allegations that companies investing in his businesses in return for favours and benefits from the Congress government when YSR Reddy was chief minister.
Pollsters had predicted the Jagan walkover. The whopping 79.52 per cent votes cast on Tuesday made analysts wager that both the "anti-incumbency" and a "sympathy" factor would work for Jagan Reddy, who was plucked out of an intense campaign, questioned for three days by the CBI and then was arrested on May 27 and sent to Chanchalguda Jail in Hyderabad in a disproportionate assets case.
This kept him away from the rest of the campaign, but his mother YS Vijaya and sister Sharmila took over and made a martyr of him, lambasting the ruling Congress for what they called unfair tactics. Jagan's camp is sensing victory already. In a first ever interview, his wife Bharati told NDTV, "Indications are that it will be a good day for us. Wish Jagan were here today. It is his day. He has worked so hard for it." (Exclusive: It's Jagan's day, says his wife)
The results will also been keenly watched in Delhi. In 2004, the Congress had won 29 seats in Andhra Pradesh out of its overall tally of 145 seats in the Lok Sabha. This tally increased to 33 - out of 207 - in the current Lok Sabha. Andhra Pradesh sends 42 members to the Lok Sabha, and these polls are being seen as a curtain-raiser to the 2014 elections.
The 294 member assembly also has a big impact of the upcoming Presidential polls, as it forms an important part of the electoral college. A big win for Jagan Mohan Reddy may compound the Congress' problems and make it more difficult to install a UPA-backed candidate in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
THE TELANGANA FACTOR
Of the 18 Assembly seats, eight are in Rayalaseema and nine in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Parkal is the only one seat going for by-poll in the Telangana region. Here, the YSR Congress candidate Konda Surekha had resigned as minister and MLA in support of Jagan Mohan Reddy. Though the Telangana sentiment is strong, the split of votes between the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which many believe has an edge, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to give the YSR Congress an advantage.
Enthused by their win in Mahbubnagar in the recent by-polls, the BJP is also hoping to do a repeat in Parkal. Pollsters predict a three-cornered fight between the TRS, BJP and YSR Congress. The Congress and Telugu Desam (TDP) are expected to come in at four and five.
Leads 17
- YSR Cong: 14
- Congress: 2
- TRS :1
HYDERABAD Kiran Kumar Reddy is the one Congress chief minister who has not rushed to Delhi on urgent summons from the party high command. He is in his state Andhra Pradesh, eyes fixed on the results for by-elections held to 18 Assembly and one Lok Sabha seat. The first trends tell the story of his worst fears - YSR Congress, the party of Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is in jail on corruption charges, is ahead in 15 out of the 18 seats. It has won the Yemmiganur seat.The Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) a are ahead in one seat each. Pollsters have predicted that Jagan and his party will win big - some exit polls have given him 16 of the 18 Assembly seats. A whopping 79.52 per cent votes were cast on Tuesday and analysts say the high turnout may signal both the "anti-incumbency" and a "sympathy" factors at work for Jagan Reddy, who was plucked out of an intense campaign, questioned for three days by the CBI and then was arrested and sent to Chanchalguda Jail in Hyderabad in a disproportionate assets case.
This kept him away from the rest of the campaign, but his mother YS Vijaya and sister Sharmila took over and made a martyr of him, lambasting the ruling Congress for what they called unfair tactics. Jagan's camp is sensing victory already. In a first ever interview, his wife Bharati told NDTV, "Indications are that it will be a good day for us. Wish Jagan were here today. It is his day. He has worked so hard for it." (Exclusive: It's Jagan's day, says his wife)
Jagan Reddy has accused both the Congress and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party of being afraid of the rise of a third force in the state. Indeed, if Mr Reddy does well today, the dynamics of Andhra Pradesh politics would have changed. (Who is Jagan Mohan Reddy?)
In 16 of the 18 assembly seats that will be decided today, by-elections are being held because the sitting Congress MLAs were disqualified by the Assembly Speaker for switching loyalties to the YSR Congress and voting against the Congress government during a no-trust vote in December last year. If Jagan Reddy's party wins these seats, it will have bitten a chunk out of the 156 seats that the Congress had won in 2009 in the 294-member Assembly. Of the 18 Assembly seats, 16 were won by Congress in 2009 and two by erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party. Nellore Lok Sabha seat was also bagged by Congress in 2009.
Jagan has warned that more Congressmen and even TDP men are waiting to join him in the next few months and analysts say that a result today in favour of the YSR Congress will hasten that. The Kiran Kumar Reddy-led government is surviving on a razor-thin majority of 151 in the 294-member Assembly. Even if 10 MLAs cross over to Jagan's camp, the Congress government, despite support from the seven Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) MLAs, may collapse.
The Andhra Pradesh chief minister has so far put up a brave front saying there is no threat to his government, but his presence in the state today when the Congress fights a big battle at the Centre, is telling.
The results will also been keenly watched in Delhi. In 2004, the Congress had won 29 seats in Andhra Pradesh out of its overall tally of 145 seats in the Lok Sabha. This tally increased to 33 - out of 207 - in the current Lok Sabha. Andhra Pradesh sends 42 members to the Lok Sabha, and these polls are being seen as a curtain-raiser to the 2014 elections.
Its 294 member assembly also has a big impact of the upcoming Presidential polls, as it forms an important part of the electoral college. A big win for Jagan Mohan Reddy may compound the Congress' problems and make it more difficult to install a UPA-backed candidate in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
THE TELANGANA FACTOR
Of the 18 Assembly seats, eight are in Rayalaseema and nine in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Parkal is the only one seat going for by-poll in the Telangana region. Here, the YSR Congress candidate Konda Surekha had resigned as minister and MLA in support of Jagan Mohan Reddy. Though the Telangana sentiment is strong, the split of votes between the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which many believe has an edge, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to give the YSR Congress an advantage.
Enthused by their win in Mahbubnagar in the recent by-polls, the BJP is also hoping to do a repeat in Parkal. Pollsters predict a three-cornered fight between the TRS, BJP and YSR Congress. The Congress and Telugu Desam (TDP) are expected to come in at four and five.
YSR Cong:15
Congress: 1
TDP :1
TRS: 1
YSR Cong:14
Congress: 2
TDP :1
TRS: 1
YSR Cong: 13
Congress: 2
TRS : 1
Exclusive: It's Jagan's day, says his wifeIndications are it will be a good day for us.I wish Jagan were here today. It is his day. He has worked so hard for it.
YSR Cong - 12
Congress - 1
TRS - 1
YSR - 6
Cong - 2
TRS - 1
- Indications are it will be a good day for us.I wish Jagan were here today. It is his day. He has worked so hard for it.
- I will not be coming upfront in politics. I am sure he will come out very soon.
- Sometimes it is very scary. It is just us three women: my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and me. You never know. These things sometimes can take a long time. We are fighting against the system.
Counting for Andhra Pradesh by-polls todayCounting of votes for 18 Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh will take place today. By-elections here were held on Tuesday.
What's playing on the voters' mind?Our reporter Radhika Iyer talks to some of the voters in Rayachoti in Kadapa who are braving the heat to exercise their franchise in these elections. For them, availability of water, frequent power cuts and cost of per unit of electricity are the top agendas.
The counting of votes will be done on June 15 from 8 am.
Lakshmi, 72, was a labourer until few years ago. She had come early to vote to avoid the unkind Sun of the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh. The temperature here had touched 43 degrees Celsius last week. Lakshmi does not want to reveal who she is voting for but in a veiled message to the Congress she says, "If the hand tries to stop a running fan then it will get cut."
(The hand is the Congress symbol and the fan is the electoral symbol for Jagan's YSR Congress. Jagan is an MP from Kadapa)
Apart from Tirupathi, which was vacated by actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi as he went on to become a Rajya Sabha member, all the other seats were vacated by elected representatives who switched their loyalties to Jagan Mohan Reddy and voting against the Congress government during a no-trust vote in December. They were disqualified by Assembly Speaker.
By-elections to 18 assembly, one Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh todayThe stage is set for polling in the crucial by-elections to 18 assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh today. As many as 46,13,589 voters would exercise their franchise at 5,413 polling stations set up in the Nellore Lok Sabha constituency and 18 assembly segments, spread over 12 districts in the state.
Jagan in jail - Political vendetta?Jagan's judicial custody has been extended till June 25. He is being interrogated by the CBI for alleged corruption.
