Setback to Congress in Council polls

The ruling Congress party suffered a setback on Wednesday with supporters of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of former chief minister, YS Rajasekhara Reddy, winning three out of the nine state Legislative Council seats for which elections were held.

Apart from the Jagan (as the former Congress MP is popularly known) camp, the opposition Telugu Desam Party also fared well in the Local Authorities Constituencies (LAC) polls by winning three seats as against one it had held before.

In contrast, Congress bagged just three seats, a loss of three seats compared with the six seats it held prior to the elections. Even in Chittoor, the home district of chief minister, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, the ruling party candidate was defeated by an independent supported by Jagan.

Of the 10 LAC seats for which elections were announced, Hyderabad LAC was won by an MIM candidate unopposed. The remaining nine seats were shared equally by Congress, TDP and supporters of Jagan.

While the Congress won Nellore, Kurnool and Srikakulam LACs, the TDP candidates secured East Godavari, Anantapur and West Godavari seats. Jagan supports emerged victorious in Kadapa, Chittoor and West Godavari which had two LACs.