Hyderabad:
Having drawn a blank in the recent by-polls in seven assembly constituencies, the ruling Congress has begun preparations for the ensuing by-elections to 18 seats in earnest.
The state Congress leaders, after getting directions from the central leadership, have begun the exercise to win the elections. State Congress President Botsa Satyanarayana held a meeting with leaders and activists in Srikakulam district on Friday.
The by-polls in 16 of the 18 seats are necessitated due to the disqualification of Congress MLAs, who switched loyalty to Kadapa MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and voted against the Congress government during a floor test in December last, while the sitting member quit in support of Jagan in another seat.
The by-poll in another seat (Tirupati) is caused after the resignation of actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, following his election to the Rajya Sabha.
The vacancies arose in March and April and the by-polls have to be held within six months.
As part of preparations for the by-polls, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President are likely to hold a meeting with party leaders of various constituencies on Saturday, party sources said.
In the wake of reports of serious differences between the Chief Minister and the PCC President, they were "summoned" to Delhi this week and told by All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of party affairs in AP Ghulam Nabi Azad to sink their differences and focus on the next round of by-polls.
In the seven assembly seats, where by-polls were held last month, the Congress failed to win a single seat.
Particularly disappointing to the Congress was the defeat in Kovur, where the nominee of Jagan won and the Congress candidate stood a distant third.