YSRC and TD Boosting Morale of Rank and File on Eve of Results
VIJAYAWADA: Leaders of the main political parties in AP are trying to strengthen the confidence levels among the rank and file of their parties, saying they would win the polls wholesale this time.
YSRC president and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is boosting the morale of his party cadres by promising them a repeat of the 2019 landslide victory for the ruling party.
Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu is less vocal about predicting a huge victory for the three-party alliance this time. But, he is trying to boost the morale of his partymen by promising that the alliance would grab power.
All eyes are on the exit poll results, which will be released after the end of the last phase of polling on June 1, Saturday. Major parties have arranged special sessions for senior party leaders to sit together and watch the results on June 4, when trends would be known immediately after the start of the counting of postal ballots first, followed by EVM counting and declaration of results.
The YSRC leaders had hoped that the welfare agenda of the Chief Minister during the past five years would work wonders for the party in this polls. However, the formation of the 3-party alliance raised fears about a stronger challenge from the Opposition.
On May 16, three days after the AP polling, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy went to the YSRC’s political strategy-planning IPAC office, analysed the overall scenario with the experts. After this, he came to the conclusion that his party would win more seats this time compared to 2019.
Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana was quick to announce an auspicious muhurut 9.38 am on June 9 for the next swearing in of the YSRC government in Visakhapatnam with Jagan Mohan Reddy as CM.
The highly optimistic statements of the Chief Minister, in special, inspired YSRC leaders and cadres and they are looking forward to June 9. The tone for the final outcome will be set with the exit poll results on Saturday.
TD chief Chandrababu Naidu had in 2019 claimed his party would win more than 150 seats but tasted a miserable defeat at the hands of the YSRC. This time, he is maintaining a stoic silence after the polling. In the TD’s internal meetings, reviews and war room consultations, Naidu reportedly expressed confidence that the alliance would ride to power with 160 plus seats.
He also predicted that the BJP-led NDA of Prime Minister Narendra Modi would retain power at the Centre. Taking inspiration from Naidu, TD cadres claimed that the oath-taking ceremony will indeed be held on June 9, but in Amaravati by their leader.