Mangalagiri/Vijayawada: In a utterly dismaying result for Jagan Mohan Reddy, trends show the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leading in 130 seats in the Andhra Pradesh assembly polls.
The TDP allies JSP and BJP are leading in 20 and 7 seats.
YSRCP, in contrast, lead is reduced to 18 seats. The results are also reflecting in the Lok Sabha results with TDP ahead in 16, BJP 3 and JSP 2 while YSRCP is confined to 4.
The state of 4.14 crore electorate voted in the simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections on 13 May, marked by a fierce contest between the incumbent Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) led by Jagan and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led BJP-JSP coalition under Chandrababu Naidu.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) reported a record turnout of 81.86 percent — a two percent increase from the 2019 polls.
Andhra Pradesh has 175 assembly seats, out of which a whopping 151 seats were bagged by YSRCP in a landslide victory for Jagan five years back. The TDP, which formed the first government in the truncated state in 2014, accommodating two BJP legislators in Naidu’s cabinet, was reduced to its all time low of 23 seats then.
Jagan went to the polls solitary again this time, and with an ambitious target of “Why not 175?” i.e., winning all the assembly seats.
Naidu, on the other hand, renewed his 2014 alliance with the BJP and JSP in order to defeat Jagan. The TDP contested in 144 seats, JSP 21, and the BJP in 10 assembly segments.
Reposing faith in his 2019 election winning manifesto, and the crores of welfare beneficiaries, Jagan’s YSRCP manifesto for 2024 polls was sans any new major programme, scheme or guarantee. Jagan claimed that his government has successfully fulfilled 99 percent of the assurances given to the people and a lot more.
Jagan assured that all the populist schemes including the 2019’s vote-earning Navaratnalu (nine welfare guarantees in health, education, social security, housing etc sectors) will continue if Jagan is given another term.
The move, YSRCP ministers and leaders said, exuded mutual confidence that Jagan and the state’s electorate has in each other and that the ruling party will retain power with a resounding victory.
Despite the opposition to his 2019 announced controversial three capitals plan and pending court cases, Jagan said he is determined to make Visakhapatnam his executive capital once retaining his CM seat in June and announced to take oath there if elected again.
While the port-industrial city would be developed further to serve as Andhra Pradesh’s growth engine, Amaravati would remain as legislative capital and Kurnool established as judicial capital, said Jagan.
Meanwhile, the opposition combine’s manifesto, which notably had only Naidu and Kalyan’s pics and no BJP leaders on it, went big on welfare promises.
A pension of Rs 4,000 per month in place of Rs 3,000 given now, free travel for women in state transport corporation buses, three free gas cylinders annually, unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 monthly, Rs 15,000 annually to school-going students, Rs 1,500 monthly to all women in the age group of 19-59 are some of the largesse offered by the alliance.
The opposition manifesto assured continuation of the stalled greenfield mega capital at Amaravati while promising a balanced growth in all the regions of the state.
Jagan, Naidu and Kalyan campaigned vigorously across the state braving the intense heat, while PM Narendra Modi also addressed a few rallies in AP like at Chilakaluripeta, Rajahmundry, Rajampeta.
However, amid an uncertain voter mood, Andhra Pradesh has witnessed polling day, post poll violence of a magnitude reminiscent of the state of affairs during the elections here in the 1980s and 1990s.
A series of major incidents of violence was reported especially from Palnadu, Ananthapuramu and Tirupati districts.
A show of strength, and in some cases alleged electoral tampering, led to clashes between YSRCP and TDP supporters, who resorted to stick fights, stone-throwing, and even petrol bombs and crude weaponry, like sickles, axes and hammers, resulting in bloodshed.
Following an outcry, and in an unprecedented move, the ECI had summoned Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Jawahar Reddy and Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Gupta to New Delhi, “to personally explain reasons for the failure of administration in containing post-poll violence.”
While ordering the suspensions, transfers of several IPS and state service officers for the lapses, and ordering a SIT to probe the violence cases, the ECI decided to direct the Ministry of Home Affairs to retain the 25 CAPF companies in Andhra Pradesh for 15 days after counting, to control any possible violence following the election results.
(Edited by Tony Rai)