HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy has set a target of 51 per cent vote share for the Congress in the next Assembly elections due in 2009.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Dr. Reddy said the ruling party bagged more than 51 per cent votes -- considered a magic figure in democracy -- in the six districts of Srikakulam, Guntur, Prakasam, Chittoor, Kadapa and Kurnool in the recent Zilla Parishad elections. The elections to the local bodies had created a lot of hype and he would have preferred low-key elections, he said and blamed the media as well as the political parties for the situation.

`Claim distorted'

The Chief Minister said his prediction that the Congress would bag 90 per cent of the Zilla Parishad chairpersons' posts had come true and attributed it to the successful implementation of his Government's welfare measures and development programmes. His claim was distorted by the TDP and the media, he said. The charge of the TDP that he had spoken to its candidates to seek their support in the elections to the ZP chairperson posts was wrong, he said.

Analysing the results of the recent Panchayat Raj elections, he said that the marginal fall in the vote share of the ruling party in 10 districts, compared to the last Assembly elections, could be attributed to several factors, including local equations. The changed alliance scenario and individual factors too should not be forgotten in this regard, he said. The Congress would make an Assembly constituency-wise study, he said.

Appeal to cadre

He asked the party workers to explain the developmental programmes to the people more effectively. Despite the negative campaign of the Opposition and adverse media coverage the ruling party had performed well in all the elections so far after returning to power in 2004.

Dr. Reddy said his party would take remedial measures to increase the vote share by the next elections by adopting good governance practices and effectively completing targets fixed for Jala Yagnam, the programme for the construction of irrigation projects.

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