By IANS,
Hyderabad : The ruling Congress party in Andhra Pradesh is jubilant over the party’s victory in Delhi, Rajasthan and Mizoram and hopes that the results would inspire it to retain power in the state that goes to polls in March-April next year.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, state party president D. Srinivas and other top leaders met at Gandhi Bhavan, the party headquarters, to discuss the results of elections in five states.
Srinivas hoped that the party’s win, especially in Delhi where it retained power for the third consecutive term, would inspire the party in the state to repeat this performance.
The Congress returned to power in Rajasthan and Mizoram while the BJP retained Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Hailing the party’s victory in three states, Rajasekhara Reddy termed it as the victory of party President Sonia Gandhi.
“This is a reflection of the confidence people have in the Congress rule under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi,” he told reporters.
Y.S.R., as the chief minister is popularly known by his initials, said the development works undertaken by the Congress government helped it to retain power in Delhi and wrest Rajasthan and Mizoram.
The party leaders hoped that Y.S.R., through various welfare and development programmes, would do a Sheila Dikshit in the state.
The chief minister has already exuded the confidence that the party would retain power by winning 230 seats in 294-member assembly. He claims that there was no anti-incumbency factor in the state and that his government enjoyed full support of the people.
It was celebration time in the Congress camp as party activists burst crackers and distributed sweets at Gandhi Bhavan after the trends showed that the party was leading in three states.