In a major upset to the ruling TDP and incumbent AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu, YSRCP’s Jagan Mohan Reddy is all set to become the next Chief Minister of the state. At the time of publishing, the YSRCP was leading in 145 seats of the 175 in the state assembly. Meanwhile, the TDP is leading in only 27 seats, and Pawan Kalyan’s JSP in two seats. (Data according to Election Commission of India).
In the Lok Sabha polls too, the YSRCP is expected to sweep, with the party now leading in all 25 seats.
With his massive victory, Jagan Mohan Reddy has revived his political career and the fortunes of the YSRCP, which faced a defeat in the previous elections, following the formation of Telangana.
With close to 4 crore voters, Andhra Pradesh had gone to the polls on April 11 and a total of 319 candidates were in the fray for the 25 Lok Sabha seats while 2,118 candidates were vying for a seat in the 175-member Assembly. Both Naidu and Jagan contested from their home grounds; Kuppam in Chittoor district and Pulivendula in Kadapa district, and won with a massive majority.
While Naidu hoped to prove his critics wrong and was banking on his welfare schemes and promises of development to ride back into power, Jagan was pinning his hopes on the anti-incumbency due to the slow development of new infrastructure in the state, especially in the new capital of Amaravati. Jagan’s padayatra, through which he had covered more than 3,000 km across the state, was also touted to be a huge hit. Jagan’s 'Navarathna’ promises also seem to have been welcomed by the state.
In 2014, the TDP had won 102 Assembly seats, while the YSRCP had bagged 67. The state has witnessed a shake-up in poll alliances after the TDP pulled out of the NDA in 2018 after the Centre refused to grant Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra. While Naidu’s party has voiced support for the Congress-led alliance at the national level, the two parties had chosen to contest independently in Andhra.