[1]The losses at Tirupati and Allagadda will be tough to digest for both Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy and Mr Chiranjeevi. The latter had repeatedly said that Tirupati was a prestige issue for him and a win here would be a gift from him to the Congress president.
The Tirupati seat was also a prestige issue for the Chief Minister as it falls in his native Chittoor district. Both leaders had, separately and together, campaigned for the party candidate here and mobil-ised resources and influences as much as possible.
There were even rumours in Congress circles that Mr Chiranjeevi had been specifically asked by the party high command to ensure a victory in Tirupati so that his chances of elevation to the Union Cabinet were further improved.
In Allagadda, it was a personal battle between Mr Chiranjeevi and Ms Shobha Nagireddy.
“She betrayed me after being elected on a PR ticket. She needs to be taught a lesson,” he had said.
Ms Shobha Nagireddy, a close relative of Kadapa MP Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, however, won with a record margin of over 35,000 in the constituency known of electing candidates with slender margins since 1952.
Mr Chiranjeevi will also take some solace with the Congress’ win in Narsapuram which was his native Assembly segment. In the 2009 elections, he had lost from the adjacent Palakol segment.
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[1] http://archive.asianage.com/chir6jpgcropdisplayjpg-625