TD-JS-BJP Sweeps Polls in AP With Huge Margins

Vijayawada: The TD-JS-BJP alliance has won the AP elections with a landslide majority, grabbing 164 Assembly and 21 Lok Sabha seats while the YSRC secured just 11 Assembly and four LS seats.

Accordingly, out of a total number of 175 Assembly seats, TD bagged 135, Jana Sena-21 and BJP-8. Similarly, for a total of 25 Lok Sabha seats, TD won 16 followed by Jana Sena-2 and BJP-3.

As the counting began at 8 am, trends started beaming on TV screens. With the completion of a few rounds, the alliance reached a formidable position. However, the counting of votes was slow in some constituencies, and this was continuing till late at night.

The Election Commission has ensured full security to avert untoward incidents during the counting, in view of the violence that marred the polls on May 13. With an exception for a few stray cases of violence, the counting of votes was peaceful.

Political analysts say the TD-JS-BJP alliance gained from some mistakes committed by the YSRC. The misinformation campaign taken up by the opposition parties in the run-up to the polls, they say, might have had its impact vis-a-vis the safety of their properties. This, even as chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy tried to dispel such fears.

The analysts also note that the multitudes might have been carried away by the series of promises made by the TD via the Super Six – like free bus travel for women, doles for women, farmers, unemployed youths etc. The YSRC failed to act in the same manner.

Moreover, as Telugu Desam, Jana Sena and BJP joined hands, their mass bases collectively took on the YSRC and Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. This turned out to be a formidable combination. The YSRC leadership failed to foresee its lethal effect on it and did not evolve counter-strategies. It, instead, put its faith in the large mass of ordinary people.

The large turnout of people to the public meetings and the Bus Yatra held by the Chief Minister in the run-up to the polls gave the impression of massive support to the CM from the grassroots level. This made the YSRC complacent and it took things for granted.

BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and party chief J.P. Nadda toured parts of AP and addressed public meetings, targeting the CM.

In 2019, the YSRC won the polls by securing 151 Assembly and 22 Lok Sabha seats with a vote share of 49.95 per cent, while the TD was reduced to just 23 Assembly and three LS seats with a vote share of 39.17 per cent. The Jana Sena managed to get just one Assembly seat with a vote share of 5.53 per cent at that time.

In 2014, the TD allied with the BJP and got external support from the Jana Sena led by Pawan Kalyan and won the polls. The TD secured 102 Assembly seats, the YSRC 67 seats, the BJP four seats and the others two seats.