The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Congress upbeat after phase 1 polls

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Friday, Apr 17, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Congress upbeat after phase 1 polls

Special Correspondent

Party men distribute sweets hoping to hit ‘first century’

PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

In high spirits: Congress activists celebrating at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad on Thursday. —

HYDERABAD: The Congress put up a brave front claiming that it has already hit its “first century” in the first phase of elections in Telangana and North Coastal Andhra and is racing for a ‘double century” across the State.

A mobilised crowd of party activists celebrated the voting “in favour of the Congress” outside Gandhi Bhavan while the leaders and cadre gathered there distributed sweets amongst themselves.

Addressing a news conference, party’s official spokesperson N. Tulasi Reddy said that the polls were conducted in a “free, fair and peaceful manner” and the APCC was complimenting the Election Commission, employees, ‘Election Watch’ and other organisations for it.

Previous results

In 2004, the Congress won 69 out of 90 Assembly seats it contested in Phase I (total 154). This time, it contested 154 seats and would win at least 100 Assembly and 18 Lok Sabha seats, he asserted.

“We have proved that the gold medal is ours. The positive vote for the various schemes implemented by the Rajasekhara Reddy government has worked wonders,” he claimed. Votes polled against the government had split among Grand Alliance, the Praja Rajyam, the BJP and the Lok Satta in some places. As a result, even the borderline cases too would go in favour of the Congress.

The great expectations of the Grand Alliance about the vote transfer amongst the cadres of their respective parties were dashed. While the vote transfer did not happen, the “internecine feuds and backbiting among their cadres” proved costly for the alliance contestants.

The audio tape expose of TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu’s utterances against the TRS irked the TDP and the TRS activists, he said.

Rajya Sabha member K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, legislators R. Padma Raju, S. Indrasain Reddy and K. Janardhan Reddy, also participated.

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