The elections to the panchayat raj bodies turned into a mixed bag even as the four major political parties claimed that candidates supported by them bagged the majority gram panchayats that went to the polls in the first phase on Tuesday.
Till the results last came in, the Telugu Desam Party was leading in Srikakulam, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Chittoor, Anantapur and Mahbunagar districts and the ruling Congress claimed candidates backed by it emerged victorious in Vizianagaram, Nellore, Kurnool, Nizamabad, Nalgonda and East Godavari districts. Not to be outdone, YSR Congress leaders and cadre organised celebrations at the party’s central office here claiming it had pipped the ruling party and the TDP to the post in several districts, including YSR Kadapa, Prakasam and Ranga Reddy. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti, on its part, said its tally was way ahead of rivals in Karimnagar, Adilabad, Warangal and Medak districts. According to reports reaching here, the TDP-backed candidates appeared shade ahead of the Congress winning in 1,200-odd villages while the ruling party emerged victorious in 1,100 panchayats. The YSRC and the TRS bagged close to 800 and 250 panchayats respectively.
Setback to Aruna
As the results poured in till late in the evening, interesting permutations and combinations were seen in some districts. There was setback for some ruling party leaders particularly, Minister of Information and Public Relations D.K .Aruna, as the candidate backed by her lost to the YSR Congress in her native village.
Similarly, YSR Congress MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy received a jolt in his native Nellore district, when the party-supported nominee lost to the Congress. Dissident Congress MP Manda Jagannath too faced embarrassment as the Congress candidate lost the polls in his native village in Mahabubnagar district.
