Another party sprouts in AP ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Hyderabad: Every general election since 2004  has been seeing the foray of one or two new parties into the  political battlefield in Andhra Pradesh.   If it was Telangana Rashtra Samiti in 2004 and Praja  Rajyam Party in 2009, it would be Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress (YSRC) in 2014.  

Adding to this now will be the yet-to-be-named political  party being launched by former Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar  Reddy.   It's essentially an individual's ambition to ascend  the high seat of power in the state that gave birth to these  parties though the grounds publicly stated were different.  

TRS started off as a "movement" in 2001 for securing  statehood to Telangana and jumped into the electoral fray in  2004 as a means to achieve its goal.   The outfit was limited only to a particular region in the  state and its political graph had mostly been uneven in the  last few years.  Now, with Telangana state becoming a reality, the TRS  has transformed into a full-fledged political party and hopes  to see its fortunes surge.  

'Megastar' of Telugu films K Chiranjeevi launched  his political party PRP in 2008 with the promise of ushering  in a 'change' in the system as an alternative to the two major  political forces in the state – Congress and TDP.   The PRP could not achieve what it wanted – power in the  state but surely ended up playing a 'spoilsport' to the  fortunes of TDP.   In less than four years, the PRP became extinct in 2012  by merging with the ruling Congress.  

The 2009 election also saw another new player in Lok  Satta Party of bureaucrat-turned-politician N Jayaprakash  Narayan but it ended up as a 'one-seat wonder' with only its  founder tasting electoral success.   Lok Satta, however, is not a mainstream political party  in that sense and has emerged on the scene basically with a  reformist agenda.   The YSRC took birth three years ago when the ambitious  son of former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Y S  Jaganmohan Reddy, was "denied" the opportunity to succeed  his father following the former’s tragic death in a helicopter  crash.

Jagan walked out of the Congress to launch the YSRC with  the sole objective of capturing the CM's throne.   At least Jagan has been categorical in openly  acknowledging his ambition.   The YSRC started off as a regional party on a high note  but has now been virtually reduced to a 'sub-regional' outfit,  having lost its moorings in Telangana region by taking a  pro-united state stance.   The TRS fought the 2004 elections to Lok Sabha as well as  state Assembly in alliance with the Congress.   It won 26 Assembly and five Lok Sabha seats with a 6.68  per cent and 8.03 per cent vote share respectively.

By the  time the Assembly's term ended in 2009, the party's strength  depleted by half with large-scale defections to other parties.   In 2009, the TRS was part of the Grand Alliance with  TDP, CPI and CPM but managed to win only 10 out of the 45  Assembly seats it contested with a vote share of just 3.99 per  cent. It won only two Lok Sabha seats with 6 per cent vote  share, raising questions about its political longevity.   The 2014 elections will, however, be a different ball  game for the TRS as it starts off as a frontrunner having  achieved statehood for the region.  

The PRP contested 288 Assembly seats on its own but  could romp home only in 18 (16.32 per cent vote share),  dashing all hopes of its founder who had his eyes on the Chief  Minister's chair.   The party's Lok Sabha election tally read 0\40 though  it managed 15.67 per cent vote share.   Kiran Kumar Reddy was state Chief Minister for over  three years till he resigned on February 19, protesting the  bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, simultaneously quitting the  Congress.   He would have been content taking a break from politics,  but the six MPs expelled from the Congress prodded Kiran to  lead them on a new political path.  

The new party's influence, if any, will be limited  only to coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions as it is coming  up on the united AP plank.   Will Kiran and Co. make a mark or end up being a spoiler  like the PRP is the big question.   Jagan was seen to be having an edge in Seemaandhra,  by taking a pro-united AP stance or otherwise, but the sudden  entry of the new player (Kiran) might make the sailing tough  for the YSRC.