Megastar K Chiranjeevi, the so-called “trump card” of the Congress party in the by-elections, has failed to live up to the expectations of the high command. The humiliating defeat of the Congress party candidate Venkataramana in the hands of YSR Congress party candidate Bhumana Karunakar Reddy has battered his image heavily.
Though the initial trends went in favour of the Congress party, Bhumana bounced back in the subsequent rounds and grew from strength to strength. And by the time the counting was completed, Bhumana won the Tirupati seat by a comfortable margin of over 18,000 votes which is pretty high, compared to the 10,800 votes majority secured by Chiranjeevi in the 2009 assembly elections.
Even the YSR Congress party leaders did not expect this majority; in fact, they lost hope on this seat because the winds were in favour of the Congress till the day of polling. The ruling party pumped in heavy amount, compared to Bhumana. But, the last day campaign by YSR Congress party honorary president Y S Vijayalakshmi made all the difference, as she drew huge crowds compared to Chiranjeevi’s road show on the same day.
Now, it remains to be seen how the Congress high command treats Chiranjeevi in the party. And AICC observer Vayalar Ravi particularly expressed dissatisfaction over the Tirupati result. The immediate impact would be Chiru should almost forget the union cabinet berth.
