Seemandhra region, where the no-hold-barred election campaign in 25 lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats came to an end on Monday evening, is witnessing a direct fight between the TDP-BJP alliance and the YSR Congress Party of YS Jaganmohan Reddy as Congress merely joined the race.
In the region, where 3.6 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, people will also elect their first State Government after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. State Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar lal said that strict security arrangements have been made for the polling on Wednesday at 40,708 polling centres in the 13 districts of the region. There are 333 candidates in the fray for 25 lok Sabha constituencies while 2,243 candidates are trying their luck for 175 Assembly seats.
An analysis of the campaign of the respective political parties or alliance and the standing and strength of their top leaders as well as the past trends suggest that while the two major contenders for power are locked in a neck-and-neck fight, the YSRCP of Jaganmohan Reddy is enjoying a slight edge in a majority of the constituencies, specially in the four districts of Rayalaseema. While the TDP had left four lok Sabha and 13 Assembly constituencies to its alliance partner the BJP, the YSRCP is contesting all the constituencies.
The Congress, which is reduced to the pale shadow of its past and lost most of the ground to the YSRCP, is also there in almost all the constituencies but is largely expected to draw a blank specially in the lok Sabha constituencies. While majority of the Congress candidates are newcomers facing resources crunch and absence of the top leaders of the party in the campaign, Jai Samakiya Andhra Party of former Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is also eating in to remnants of Congress’ votes.
So strong are the sentiments against the Congress over the bifurcation of the State that even the two rallies by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi failed to lift the spirits of the beleaguered party. As a last ditch effort to woo the electorate to their sides, the top leaders of Telugu Desam-BJP alliance and the YSRCP undertook a whirlwind tour on the last day.
While Chandrababu Naidu addressed a series of meetings in Prakasham, Guntur and Krishna, film star Pawan Kalyan visited Chittoor and Anantapur. Jaganmohan Reddy addressed meetings in Rayalaseema — including Kurnool district while his sister Sharmila campaigned for her mother Vijyalakshmi who was contesting from Visakhpatanam district.
Jagan’s wife Bharati, who is looking after her husband’s Assembly constituency Pulivendula in Kadapa district, exuded confidence that the YSRCP is going to win at least 130 Assembly constituencies. “I have drawn this conclusion on the basis of the unprecedented response from the people to Jagan’s campaign,” she said.
While the aggressive joint election rallies by BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and popular film star and founder of Jana Sena Party have fired up all the engines of the alliance, entire burden of campaigning for the YSRCP was carried by Jaganmohan Reddy on his shoulders, though his mother and sister also campaigned at some places.
Modi had addressed six rallies in the region in two days, Naidu and Pavan carried on from there by conducting their separate roadshows. Film star N Balafrishna, who is contesting as TDP candidate from Hindupur, also had his roadshows in north coastal Andhra and parts of Rayalaseema.
Naidu is taking Jagan’s challenge so seriously that he visited his Kuppam constituency in Chittoor district for the first time in two decades. He is apparently concerned over his reducing margin of victory in the constituency over the last three elections. Naidu’s son Nara lokesh also made his debut as a campaigner this time conducting his own roadshows under the banner of “Yuva Parbhanjanam” (youth wave).
Bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and resultant problems, alleged corruption cases of Jaganmohan Reddy and promises of development of the new State dominated the election campaign.
The promises of Chandrababu Naidu to develop Seemandhra into a new Singapore and also sops for the poor and weaker sections are being countered by Jaganmohan Reddy by reminding people about his backtracking from welfare programs like Rs 2 per kg scheme and cheap power for the farmers. “Jagan will go to jail within a year,” Naidu told his election meetings urging the people to not support a man who was accused of looting the public wealth during his father’s rule.
Pawan Kalyan, who emerged as a crowd puller in this election also targeted Jagan. “He is not going to become the Chief Minister at any cost. If he becomes Chief Minister, then Maoist violence will raise its head once again,” the actor said. Jagan on his part launched a counter attack questioning the credibility of Naidu.
“Chandrababu is the worst liar and has no credibility,” Jagan said, “Our State Budget is Rs 1,25,000 crore and he is promising to write off farmers loans of Rs 1,50,000 crore. From where he will bring the money.”
“I am like my father in keeping my word. If we come to power not only we will do what we have promised, we will do what we have not promised,” he said. Sharmila and her mother on the other hand tried to give an emotional touch to the campaign by reminding the people about the death of YSR. “People have stood by us after the death of YSR we are indebted to you,” Sharmila said in Visakhapatnam.
The key contestants in this phase of lok Sabha poll include former Union Ministers D Purandeswari of BJP and A Sai Pratap of Congress (Rajampet), former Union Minister Kishore Chander Deo (Araku-ST), Pallam Raju (Kakinada), Vijayalakshmi of YSRCP state BJP President K Hari Babu (Visakhpatanam), industrialists Galla Jaidev of TDP (Guntur) Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy of YSRCP and R Sambasiva Rao of TDP (Narsaraopeta) and Koneru Rajinder Prasad of YSRCP in Vijayawada. The candidates in the Assembly elections’ include two aspiring Chief Ministers Nara Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jaganmohan Reddy, N Raghuveera Reddy.