By IANS,
Hyderabad : Dealing a blow to the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh, the newly-formed YSR Congress Party of former MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy Wednesday bagged three seats in the legislative council elections from local authority constituencies.
Of the nine seats to which polls were held Monday, the Congress could win only three seats, down from eight it held earlier. The main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also bagged three seats.
Making an impressive debut, the YSR Congress Party won the seats in Chittoor, kadap, and West Godavari district. Chittor is the home district of Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, and Kadapa is the home district of Jagan.
In Chittoor district, which is also the home district of TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, YSR Congress candidate D. Tippa Reddy was elected with the majority of one vote over his nearest rival of the Congress M. Naresh Kumar Reddy.
Despite deploying four ministers, including Jagan’s uncle Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy, the ruling party failed to defeat YSR Congress in Kadapa.
C. Narayan Reddy was elected with the majority of nine votes over former Congress legislator N. Vardarajula Reddy.
In West Godavari district, senior Congress leader Ganga Bhavani was defeated by YSR Congress candidate M. Sheshu Babu. In Nellore district, YSR Congress candidate R. Pratap Kumar Reddy lost to V. Narayana Reddy of the Congress by seven votes.
The Congress also suffered a setback in Anantapur where the group led by its own leader and former minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy ensured the victory of M. Govind Reddy of the TDP.
The TDP also won second seat in West Godavari and one in East Godavari while the Congress bagged Kurnool and Srikakulam.
Jagan, the son of late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy launched the party March 11.
He and his mother Vijayalaxmi quit the Congress and their Lok Sabha and assembly seats respectively in November last year, accusing the party leadership of trying to create a rift in their family.
The electoral victory has come as a moral booster for Jagan ahead of the ensuing by-elections from the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula assembly constituencies.