AP Bypolls: Lagadapati Predicts Another Debacle For Congress

Clear indications are there that the ruling Congress party in Andhra Pradesh may not win a single seat out of the 7 bypolls held on Sunday. Congress is in for another setback after the recent debacle in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, indicate the exit-poll surveys. It is likely that Congress may also lose in the second round of by-elections to be held shortly in 18 constituencies.

The by-elections to seven assembly constituencies - six in the volatile Telangana region and the remaining one in the coastal district of Nellore - held on Sunday. "The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) will win all the five seats it has contested - Adilabad, Kamareddy, Station Ghanpur, Kollapur and Mahbubnagar - while the Independent candidate backed by TRS in Nagarkurnool will retain his seat. The Kovvur seat in Nellore will go to YSR Congress party," Congress MP from Vijayawada, Lagadapati Rajagopal, who commissioned an independent survey after the byelections, said. What is worse, the Congress could end up in third position in at least three constituencies, he said.

That the party will come a cropper in the Telangana region is a foregone conclusion. Congress' inability to take any decision on TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao's demand for a separate state and instead, deliberately dodging the issue, has given rise to much heartburn among the people. But the worst is yet to come. There are going to be another round of byelections for 18 assembly constituencies, 16 of which had fallen vacant after rebel Congress MLAs joined the YSR Congress. Of the other two, Chiranjeevi is going to vacate the Tirupati seat shortly as he has been nominated to Rajya Sabha and another MLA has submitted his resignation. And going by the ground report, the Congress is unlikely to win any of those seats.