Heavy rain lashes Vijayawada, venue of AP CM swearing in ceremony affected

Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds hit Vijayawada on Wednesday providing relief from the sweltering heat and lowering temperatures considerably.

YSR Congress Party chief Jaganmohan Reddy is set to take oath here as the new chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. The sudden change in weather has affected the preparations at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium, the venue of the swearing in.

Governor E S L Narasimhan will administer the oath of office and secrecy at 12.23 pm.

Reddy, is the son of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy. He was earlier a Member of Parliament from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency.

The YSRCP got an absolute majority in 175-member strong Assembly, ousting N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from power in the state.

The party won 151 seats out of 175, whereas opposition TDP's strength was drastically reduced from 102 in the 2014 Assembly elections to a mere 23.

YSRCP polled 49.9 per cent votes, while TDP got a 39.2 per cent vote share. One seat went to the Jana Sena Party led by actor-turn politician Pawan Kalyan.

YSRCP also bagged 22 Lok Sabha seats out of 25 in the state, while TDP could get only three seats.