HYDERABAD: In Seemandhra, TDP-BJP made smart gains since leaders of the two parties carried out in all the districts a sustained campaign that they were wedded to development of the region.
The priority of seemandhra voters appeared development of the region since bifurcation of the state was done anyway, though the decision was not palatable to them.
The TDP-BJP combine won as many as 17 Lok Sabha seats, while YSRC had to contend with just eight seats. BJP won two, including Visakhapatnam which is a prize as YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s mother Vijaya Lakhsmi was in the fray on behalf of the YSRC. Finally, it was BJP’s K Hari Babu who walked away with the cake. The YSRC ended with a tally of eight Lok Sabha seats.
Said YS Jagan Mohan Reddy after the debacle: “People had thought Chandrababu Naidu was speaking the truth when he made promises. But I accept defeat in all humility and would continue to fight on behalf of the people. We began our journey with one MP and one MLA. When the party was launched, my mother was an MLA and I was an MP. Later, the party’s tally went up to 20 MLAs and two MPs. Now, we got 70 MLAs and around 10 MPs.”
The TDP-BJP alliance paid off more for Chandrababu Naidu since he could get a rub off from Narendra Modi. As both the leaders spoke at length on the need to develop Seemandhra, it appealed to the people who were feeling let down by division of the state.
If BJP Seemandhra president Hari Babu ended up as a giant killer by defeating Vijaya Lakshmi, BJP’s nominee for Rajampet Daggubati Purandeswari lost the eleciton to YSRC.
Union minister Killi Krupa Rani, who was seeking reelection from Srikakulam, was defeated by TDP candidate K Rammohan Naidu, son of the late TDP leader Yerran Naidu. Former Union minister Pallam Raju lost election in Kakinada Lok Sabha constituency and was pushed to the third place.
Another Union minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao chose not to contest the elections, while Vijayawada MP Lagadapti Rajagopal stayed away from politics as they understood the writing on the wall. Former minister Galla Aruna Kumari’s son and industrialist Galla Jaidev has won Guntur Lok Sabha seat.
Former Union Minister of State for Railways Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy suffered a defeat at the hands of firsttimer Butta Renukamma of YSRC in elections for Kurnool Lok Sabha seat. He was in the third position.
YSRC candidate Kothapalli Geetha vanquished Union minister Kishore Chandra Deo in Araku.
