Hyderabad: With about 77% polling in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh, leaders both the TDP and YSRC expressed confidence of forming the next government in the state.
While the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) seemed optimistic of people giving it a massive mandate for another term, its main opposition, the YSR Congress, was also equally sure of a landslide victory.
On Friday, Chief Minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said, “Polling trend made it clear that people were with the TDP. We are going to win 130 seats in the 175-member Assembly and will also bag 20-22 of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies. TDP leaders are hoping that the welfare schemes, especially pensions for the aged and widows and financial assistance provided to women self-help groups, would help them retain power.
However, he demanded repolling in about 150 polling stations from where there were reports of non-functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
“A large number of women and elderly people had to wait in the scorching heat due to a delay in the commencement of polling. Also, the polling process was slow. It is likely that many of the voters who had returned may not have come back to vote after the existing EVMs were replaced/repaired,” Naidu wrote to the Election Commission.
The Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRC claimed that the massive turnout reflected the strong anti-incumbency wave. It said that despite TDP’s bid to prevent a high voter turnout, people came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.
Reddy told reporters that going by the high polling percentage, the party was poised for a landslide win.
“Naidu tried his best to stall voting and levelled serious allegations against the Election Commission,” he said.
Party leaders said Reddy’s year-long ‘padayatra’, coupled with the YSRC’s clear stand on the special category status for the state created positive vibes for the party and resulted in people participating in large numbers in the election process.
In 2014, the TDP had won 102 Assembly seats, while its then-ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged four constituencies and the YSRC had 67 seats in its kitty.
The allies won 17 Lok Sabha seats (TDP - 15, BJP – 2), while the YSRC secured eight constituencies.
The difference of votes polled by the TDP-BJP combine and YSRC was just above 2% in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
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