Congress offices in Telangana, Seemandhra deserted

Hyderabad: Telangana and Seemandhra headquarters of the Congress here wore a deserted look as the party faced a complete rout.

In the first election after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the Congress was not only heading for a wipeout in Seemandhra due to people's anger but also failed to cash in on its claim to fulfill the dream of Telangana people.

The leads in Telangana Friday afternoon show that the Congress is ahead in only 18 out of 119 assembly seats and in two out of 17 Lok Sabha seats.

Gandhi Bhavan, the headquarters of the Telangana unit of the Congress, was deserted. Till Thursday, the party leaders were confident of coming to power and were even drawing strategy at the same office to mobilize support from smaller parties in the event of a hung assembly.

There was not a single leader or activist at Indira Bhavan, the head office of the party's Seemandhra unit. The Congress faced total humiliation in the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh. The trends show it was not ahead in any of the 175 assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress had retained power in Andhra Pradesh in 2009, winning 157 seats in 294-member assembly. It also won 33 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats, which helped the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to retain power at the centre.