When the results were finally announced for the Kadapa bye-election in Andhra Pradesh, Jagan Mohan Reddy had won hands down. With 6,92,251 votes actually. The Congress’ Duggireddy Lakshmireddi Ravindra Reddy got 1,46,579 votes, placing second, with the TDP’s Mysura Reddy MV coming in third, with 1,29,565 votes.

It was a no-contest to begin with. Kadapa is YSR-turf. A constituency that the late Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh spent almost Rs 40,000 crore on, nurturing it over the many years. It was also the place where Jagan Mohan Reddy was camped non-stop, for the past three months and more. The people of Kadapa had embraced the YSR family in warmth, love and support after the charismatic Chief Minister was killed in a tragic helicopter crash in September, 2009.

Why then, did the Congress decide to take on Jagan Mohan in Kadapa, in what was a futile contest to begin with? Why did the Congress wage so much of its prestige on taking on the YSR family on their home turf? Why did it despatch a seemingly endless stream of Ministers and high-profile party leaders to campaign against Jagan, when there was really not a hope in hell to pull off the historic upset it had planned?

A senior Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh told me: “The High Command is being misled by a bunch of Johnnies”, adding, “There was little or no process of consultation between the Central leadership and state leaders”. As a result, the plan to take on Jagan Mohan on his home turf in Kadapa was ill-conceived, mismanaged and improperly implemented.

For example, many of the Andhra Minister who sent to campaign against Jagan, ended up either directly or indirectly keeping the Jagan camp in the know of the behind the scenes planning in the Congress camp. Lets not forget that a large section of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, and a huge number of Cabinet Minister in the state, were till recently staunch supporters of Jagan Mohan. Though some did break away to join him eventually, many stayed back in the Congress camp, more because they felt the bread was buttered better by the Congress. But even if their allegiances with the Congress were temporary and of convenience, most of them still owed their political careers to the late YSR. The senior Congress leader cited the example of

That's what you get!

, the state Revenue Minister, who, before the parting of ways between the Congress and Jagan, was among the first to raise the demand of ‘Jagan-for-CM’, after YSR died. Raghuveera Reddy is today considered to be among the closest confidants and advisers to Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. Old allegiances, clearly, still run deep in Andhra Pradesh.

There is no dearth of corruption allegations against Jagan Mohan Reddy, his family members and his associates. In fact, even while YSR was Chief Minister, many senior Congressmen from Andhra would not hesitate in pointing out their embarrassment, given the extent of “corruption” that was allegedly being perpetrated by YSR and his family members. Shortly before the Kadapa bye-election, Jagan himself was served with a notice by the Income Tax department. Yet, somehow, the issue of corruption was either not raised effectively enough. Incidentally, the IT officer behind the notice to Jagan, was transferred forthright, complicating the message going out to the public.

Interestingly, while the Congress sought its level best to cull the votes in favour of Jagan, it did little or nothing at all to counter Jagan’s emotional allegations that the Congress had “divided his family”. It was even stranger to see the Congress reticent in fielding Vivekananda Reddy, YSR’s younger brother and Jagan’s uncle, to counter these allegations.

Indeed, if the Congress chose to do nothing to tackle Jagan in the time that K Rosaiah was Chief Minister in Hyderabad, it should have chosen to stay miles away from Kadapa.

But there’s a more distressing prospect for the Congress, with the extremely evocative and high-charged issue of Telangana rearing its head every few months. For all its might and perceived influence, the Congress cannot wish away the demands for the creation of a separate state of Telangana. Another senior Congress leader from the state told me the Congress will do well to address the issue properly, when it comes up again in June. With 33 MPs from Andhra, the state is the last pocket of potential numbers for the Congress, in the long run-up to the next general election. He admitted that in most other states which had enough MPs to matter, the Congress’ coffers were already at their maximum. He told me: “If Telangana, with 17 MPs, can be created, the Congress by absorbing the TRS, stands to reap maximum benefits. The remaining seats in Andhra Pradesh can best be secured by winning over the TDP.”

In Kadapa, the Congress cut its nose, ended up spiting its face and even getting itself a sound spanking at the hands of Jagan. It will do well to get its act together, rethink its strategy for the state and renew itself. There still is ample time.