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70% turnout in AP by-polls

Significantly, Kovvur in the coastal district of Nellore, where Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress party is facing the electoral test outside his home turf of Kadapa, registered a massive 81 per cent polling.

On an average, nearly 70 per cent polling was registered. Six of the seven Assembly constituencies are in Telangana region where the public mood regarding the statehood demand will again be tested in these elections.

The by-elections to five of the seven constituencies were caused by the resignations of sitting MLAs in support of the Telangana statehood demand. The death of the sitting MLA caused the by-poll in Mahabubnagar while in Kovur, the resignation of N Prasanna Kumar Reddy from Telugu Desam Party, led to the by-election. Even the die-hard optimists in the ruling Congress are not willing to bet on their party candidates in any of the seven seats. “It is widely believed that all those who had resigned their seats will get re-elected. There is no chance for us in these polls,” a senior Congress MP from Vijayawada L Rajagopal said.

This sums up the sense of despondency creeping into the ruling party camp. These by-polls are seen as a “quarter finals” before another set of by-elections likely to be held before July this year to fill the vacancies caused by the disqualification of 16 Congress legislators for defying the party whip and voting against the Government during the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion in December last year. The Assembly elections in the state are due in 2014.

All the disqualified MLAs are sailing with Jagan. If they get fresh public mandate in the by-polls, it would be a severe setback for the Kiran Kumar Reddy government re-elected from their seats.

The Congress leaders fear that such a scenario could trigger desertions in the ruling camp, threatening the stability of the government which had barely managed to survive the no-trust motion.

news@khaleejtimes.com