In a major blow to the Congress,Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and his mother Y S Vijaya Lakshmi won from Kadapa Parliamentary Constituency and Pulivendula Assembly constituency respectively with record-breaking margins. The Congress and TDP candidates lost their deposits in Kadapa Lok Sabha as 70 per cent of the votes went to YSR Congress Party's Jagan Mohan and Vijaya Lakshmi. Jagan Mohan's victory spells trouble for the Congress as a rampaging Jagan Mohan is launching his "odarpu yatra" again wherein he will take the state government head-on,while many Congress MLAs may start siding with him openly. Jagan Mohan won from Kadapa with a margin of 5,21,000 votes while his mother Y S Vijaya Lakshmi won with a majority of 85,191 votes in Pulivendula Assembly constituency. Jagan Mohan polled 6,55,496 votes and won by a margin of 5,21,000 votes which is a record in the state's history. Congress candidate D L Ravindra Reddy who is Minister for Health polled 134496 and TDP candidate M V Mysoora Reddy,senior Rajya Sabha MP,polled 128727 votes. Both lost their deposits. It spells trouble for the Congress and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy as Jagan Mohan is likely to pose more challenges and question his authority. Riding on a sympathy wave,Vijaya Lakshmi beat her late husband Y S Rajasekhara Reddy¿s May 2009 record margin of 68,312 votes. She polled 1,14,039 votes. She also beat her Congress rival and brother-in-law,Y S Vivekananda Reddy,brother of late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy,who polled only 28,729 votes while the TDP¿s B Ravi who polled 12,051 votes. In May 2009,Jagan won with a majority of 178,846 votes. He had polled 5,42,611 votes while Palem Srikanth Reddy of TDP secured 363,765 votes. In this election,Jagan Mohan cut into vote shares of both the Congress and TDP taking off huge chunks even in areas perceived to be their strongholds. It is a big snub to the Congress as this by-election was touted as a fight between the rebel and the might of the Congres party. The Congress is likely to run into more trouble with the victorious Jagan Mohan Reddy on a rampage now and posing more challenges to the state government and party. Many MLAs are likely to openly now side with Jagan Mohan. After the final results were declared,Jagan Mohan immediately predicted mid-term polls in the state. ''People want the Congress rule to end in the state and they want mid-term polls,¿¿ Jagan Mohan said in a statement. The Kadapa Lok Sabha by-elections were necessitated after both Jagan Mohan and his mother Vijaya Lakhsmi resigned on November 29 last year from Congress citing humiliation by the Congress high command. JAgan Mohan launched the YSR Congress Party in February this year. Elections were held on May 8. It is a major setback for the Congress which deployed all its might to defeat Jagan Mohan. In spite of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and half of his Cabinet ministers campaigning in Kadapa,they could not sway the voters away from the YSR family. Among the 13.29 lakh eligible voters in Kadapa Parliamentary constituency,10.28 lakh exercised their franchises. Vijayalaxmi was elected unopposed in the last by-elections held in December 2009 - four months after the death of her husband and then chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash. As the stunning victory margins poured,Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Congress leaders sat glum-faced at the Secretariat and Gandhi Bhavan,the Congress party office. The CM is looking at a situation that former Chief Minister K Rosaiah faced in the past with Jagan Mohan openly challenging and tauting his authority. The CM,senior ministers and Congress leaders are worried that Jagan Mohan will be unstoppable after this victory. The Congres is also anticipating a situation where several MLAs may start openly siding with Jagan Mohan Reddy when Assembly session starts Monday. CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy's predecessor K Rosaiah was constantly troubled by a rampaging Jagan Mohan Reddy who took potshots at his government and the Congress during his 'odarpu yatra' which drew thousands of people. Rosaiah resigned in a huff last November citing personal reasons. The Congress is already in trouble-shooting mode,indicating that a minister from Telangana would be appointed as deputy chief minister to divert the attention from Jagan Mohan. ''Telangana leaders have announced that they would renew the agitation once election results are declared in the five states. The Congress high command is probably thinking of appointing a man from Telangana as Deputy CM to subdue Telangana leaders for the time-being while it handles the situation arising out of an outright Jagan Mohan victory. Regarding Kadapa results,the mood in the government and APCC is not encouraging. No one is talking about it,'' a source said. On the other hand,Jagan Mohan has made his intentions clear. He will resume "odarpu yatra" from Vizianagaram district from May 14. To prevent MLAs who may decide to accompany Jagan Mohan on his tour,the government has called for Assembly session from Monday. However,this is what may happen-MLAs are likely to openly defy the government whip and go along with JAgan Mohan. It is expected that after his victory today,the number of Jagan Mohan¿s loyalist MLAs may swell to 40 or 45. Jagan Mohan had started "odarpu yatra" in Vizianagaram on March 28 but discontinued after by-polls in Kadapa were announced. Originally he was supposed to visit 19 villages in the district but now he has extended the tour to the entire district which is the strong-hold of his detractor Minister for Transport Botsa Satyanarayana. After touring the district for two weeks,he is likely to do a victory lap in East and West Godavari,Krishna,Guntur,and Visakhapatnam districts again just to celebrate his reelection. Sources say,the motive behind appointing a deputy chief minister from Telangana is to keep Telangana happy and divert the attention while Jagan Mohan shows his might in the coastal districts. "It will also strengthen the CM's position vis-a-vis Telangana,'' an official said Tuesday.
