Guntur:
A Congress MP from Guntur, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, has blamed his party's debacle in the recent elections on the tears of Vijayamma, the wife of former Andha Pradesh Chief Minister, YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
Vijayamma's son, Jagan Mohan, was arrested for alleged corruption before the elections. She took over the campaign for their party, the YSR Congress. It swept the elections.
In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Mr Rao said that Vijayamma had shed "copious tears" at election meetings and had blamed the Congress for her husband's death in September 2009 in a helicopter crash. He said she also referred repeatedly to Jagan's arrest to evoke sympathy.
He feels this worked with voters, "especially women, which played havoc with the election fortunes of the Congress Party."
Out of 18 Assembly seats where by-polls were held earlier this month, the YSR Congress won 15, the Congress managed only 2 seats while the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) grabbed one. Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party drew a blank.