YSR Congress leads in 15 seats, expected to sweep by-polls

, Jun 15: Exit polls have projected

's YSR Congress as a clear winner in the Andhra by-polls. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (

) could win the Parkal Assembly seat in Warangal district. According to then exit polls survey, the YSR Congress would get between 12-16 seats that leaves the ruling Congress and the opposition, Telugu Desam Party, with a pathetic seat or two.

Andhra has been the centre of political drama ever since the death of the state's former Chief Minister, YSR Reddy. Jagan, his son, emerged as a rebel against the Congress and even though the power-centres in Delhi tried to play down the Jagan factor, an impressive turnout on the Jun 12 polling hinted at a strong anti-incumbency mood and a sympathy wave for Jagan prevailing in the state. The YSR Congress chief is currently waging legal battles after being accused in disproportionate assets case.

Of the 18 Assembly seats that went to the polls, Congress had won 16 of them in the 2009 Lok Sabha election while the rest were bagged by the erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party. The ruling party had also won the Nellore Lok Sabha seat. The YSR Congress is set to wrest majority of the seats including the Nellore constituency. The current by-election results would indicate the electoral trend in 24 constituencies (18 plus six segments under the Nellore seat). As per the latest news, the YSR Congress was leading in 15 constituencies. The Congress was leading in 3 seats including Tirupati.

It seems the Congress is clearly seeing the writing on the wall. "We will hold ourselves collectively responsible for the by-poll outcome. If the results are poor, we will review our performance and make necessary corrections," PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana said.

The TDP camp, meanwhile, said whatever be the results of the polls, they would continue with their fight against corruption.

The YSR Congress, meanwhile, was upbeat and confident of sweeping the by-polls.

OneIndia News