Andhra Elections

Andhra Elections

When the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls were announced, few believed that Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP could lose. The BJP was also convinced about it and ignoring advice from senior state leaders like Janga Reddy against an alliance with the TDP, then BJP president Venkaiah Naidu announced an alliance with Chandrababu.

Though the state had made significant progress on the IT front and the reforms process had been initiated by the chief minister, the unrest in the interiors of Andhra Pradesh continued. Farmers were committing suicides and hunger and poverty had made life tougher for the common man.

The masses thought Chandrababu was catering to a particular class and his government was both corrupt and inefficient. Another feeling was that the CM was only helping people from his own caste. Worse, Vajpayee's charisma had already worn off in the state as in the rest of the country.

The results wiped out the TDP from its own strongholds with Chandrababu managing to retain his own seat. Congress romped home with Telangana Rashtriya Samiti. Y Rajshekhar Reddy was elected chief minister and the state also helped Congress emerge as the single largest party in Parliament.

- Pankaj Vohra, Political Editor, Hindustan Times