AP by poll Results: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday accepted responsibility for the Congress' debacle in the bypolls to seven Assembly constituencies in the state, saying “every defeat is a lesson” to learn from.

“Everyone is responsible, including me. Every defeat is a lesson and we will learn new lessons from this defeat,” Kiran Kumar said, reacting to the results this afternoon. The Congress could not win single seat. The party failed to take government's programmes to the people effectively, the chief minister said, but denied lack of coordination between him and the state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana.

Replying to a question, Kiran Kumar said it was for the Centre to take the decision on the Telangana statehood issue. “Rank and file of the party need not lose heart over the results. We will review the results and rectify the lapses,” he said.

Referring to the result in Mahbubnagar, where the party had pinned hopes (but where BJP won), he said a “small mistake” was made in the selection of the candidate. “We will review all such things.”