New Delhi: Congress’ washout in the recent bypolls at the hands of rebel Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s fledgling party is understood to have been discussed at a meeting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had with his party chief Sonia Gandhi here.
PTI
In his first visit to the capital after last week’s rout in which the YSR Congress swept 15 of the 18 Assembly seats that went to polls, Reddy met the top brass of the Congress and is believed to have explained reasons for the defeat.
After arriving at the airport, he drove straight to 10, Janpath residence of Gandhi and closeted with her for over 30 minutes.
Though there was no official word on what transpired at the meeting, it is understood that the by-poll issue would have figured prominently.
The Congress won only two of the 18 seats it conteste while the TRS managed to win a seat. Rest 15 seats and a Lok Sabha segment went to the YSRC headed by Jagan, who is now lodged in a prison in Hyderabad.
Besides Gandhi, Reddy met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Health Minister and General Secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad.
The Congress has been on the backfoot in Andhra Pradesh ever since its leader Y S Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash in September, 2009 owing to the rise of Jagan and its indecision on the Telangana issue. The party has also been losing successive bypolls since then.
During his visit, Reddy also signed the nomination papers of Mukherjee for contesting the Presidential election.
PTI
