YSRCP and NDA partners wait for election results with bated breath

YSRCP and TDP-BJP-JSP alliance leaders await election results, anticipating victory while focusing on welfare schemes and corruption allegations.

The leaders of the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and TDP-BJP-JSP alliance, having fought the poll battle with all their might, are waiting with bated breath for the results to be announced on June 4.

Both parties are anticipating an impressive victory even as the exit polls suggested that the YSRCP might be making way for the NDA to take the reins. 

While the YSRCP has understandably taken the plunge into the poll battle on its own under the stewardship of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the TDP and JSP first forged an alliance and roped in the BJP later to achieve their objective of what they call “saving the people from the YSRCP rule”. 

JSP president Pawan Kalyan created a ripple in the political circles by expressing his intention to tie up with the TDP when its national president N. Chandrababu Naidu was on judicial remand in the Rajamahendravaram Central Prison for allegedly masterminding the skill development scam. The YSRCP had since breathed fire on the NDA allies who paid it back in the same token. 

As far as the numbers are concerned, the TDP contested in 144 Assembly constituencies while the JSP and BJP contested from 21 and 10 Assembly constituencies respectively as part of their seat-sharing formula. The TDP fielded candidates in 17 of the total 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in Andhra Pradesh while the BJP fought the election in six, leaving the remaining two to the JSP. 

As far as the issues are concerned, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had been beaming with confidence that the huge number of beneficiaries of various welfare schemes, especially the Navaratnalu, will help his party retain power, and duly harped on the development which he claimed to have achieved. 

The YSRCP also brought into sharp focus a host of scandals in which Mr. Naidu, his son N. Lokesh and others were said to be involved.