TDP gets a breather in Andhra MLC polls

[Anta Assamey]

The opposition Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh, which has been battling for survival in the state, has at last got some breather, if the counting trends in the recently held MLC elections are any indication.

While the TDP has gained an unassailable lead in the MLC elections in graduates’ constituency in north-coastal Andhra, the party is also leading in Rayalaseema (East) graduates’ constituency. In the Rayalaseema (West) constituency, too, the TDP put up an impressive show.

However, the YSRC-backed candidates has won both the MLC seats in the teachers’ constituency – Rayalaseema (East) and Rayalaseema (West). Its candidates – Parvathareddy Chandrasekhar Reddy and M V Ramachandra Reddy won the two seats respectively, but with a very less margin of around 2,000 and 169 votes respectively.

In north-coastal Andhra graduates’ constituency, TDP candidate Vepada Chiranjeevi was leading by over 20,000 votes over the YSRC candidate and AP Brahmin Welfare Corporation chairman Seethamraju Sudhakar, when the reports last came in.

The TDP candidate is likely to win the seat. Sitting MLC and BJP leader P V N Madhav, who contested the seat again, is far behind the two candidates. Apparently, the Jana Sena Party voters among the graduates have not voted for the BJP candidate.

In Rayalaseema (East) graduates’ constituency, too, TDP candidate Kancharla Srikanth was leading by nearly 10,000 votes over YSRCP candidate Shyam Prasad Reddy. In Rayalaseema (West), however, YSRC candidate Vennapusa Ravindra Reddy gained a marginal lead of around 1,900 votes over TDP candidate Bhumireddy Ramgopal Reddy.

Though the outcome of the MLC elections will make little difference to the ruling YSRC, it is certainly a wake-up call for chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, as the results indicate the mood of the urban voters, particularly the educated sections.

It is also some kind of relief for the TDP, though it has to go a long way to repeat the show in the assembly elections.