Election Results 2014: Kiran Kumar Reddy's outfit remains a non-starter

HYDERABAD: The Jai Samaikyandhra Party ( JSP) of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy formed on the plank of "united Andhra" came a cropper in the elections to Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly in Seemandhra.

The JSP drew a blank, with only results of a handful seats yet to come in, in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema (collectively known as Seemandhra).

Kiran Kumar Reddy, who staunchly opposed division of Andhra Pradesh as Chief Minister, floated the JSP ahead of elections, but it suffered an early setback with several Congress leaders who followed him deserting the fledgling outfit.

Though Kiran Kumar Reddy campaigned across Seemandhra in support of JSP's candidates, he himself did not contest the polls.

In a further setback to the party, its candidate in Visakhaptnam Sabbam Hari, one of the Congress MPs expelled by the party for moving a no-confidence motion against the UPA government, announced withdrawing from the contest just a day before the polling.

As the election in Seemandhra was clearly polarised between the TDP-BJP alliance and the YSR Congress, smaller outfits like JSP could not pose any real challenge to their prospects.

JSP had entered into an understanding with the CPI(M), which also opposed bifurcation, but it apparently failed to make any impact at the hustings.