VIJAYAWADA: In a historic comeback, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), in alliance with the BJP and actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP), stormed to power in Andhra Pradesh, winning 163 out of the 175 assembly constituencies and 21 out of the 25 Lok Sabha segments.
The stunning mandate left the YSRC of outgoing chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy reeling with just 12 assembly and four Lok Sabha seats, a far cry from the 151 assembly and 22 parliamentary constituencies it won in 2019.
Except for Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy and Jagan himself, none of the cabinet ministers could win. In Jagan’s citadel Kadapa too, the party could hold onto only three seats.
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in November 2021 had declared on the floor of the assembly that he would re-enter the House again only as CM. His victory march is impressive. From North Andhra to Rayalaseema, the NDA showed total dominance. The YSRC could not open its account in as many as eight undivided districts. It could not even put up an impressive performance in Rayalaseema where it clinched a majority of seats in 2019.