Naidu back to power after 10 years of exile
HYDERABAD: 'People have voted for stability and development. Though rivals tried to corrupt them, voters have reposed faith in the TDP,' a jubilant TDP chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu said Friday after his party won a comfortable majority in the 175-member Assembly of the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh.
A huge crowd gathered outside his residence, to celebrate his return to power after a decade. The days of despair were forgotten in the celebration of the historic moment.
By evening, the TDP raced past the 100 mark to end up at 101 seats, as Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSRC lost steam at 68. There have been many a opinion and exit poll survey but none dared predict the outcome in Seemandhra as it was thought to be a 'down to the wire contest.'
Some did risk guessing a majority for the YSRC, while others bet on the TDP. Even seasoned TDP leaders couldn't hazard a guess. Jagan, his mother Vijaya Lakhsmi and sister Sharmila had toured the length and breadth of Seemandhra and of course, on the day of polling, the TDP had accused the YSRC of trying to influence voters with liquor, money and muscle power.
All that is behind now and the victory, coming as it did after a hard fought battle, was all the more sweeter for Naidu - for 10 long years, he had patiently sat in the Opposition and managed to keep the party under his control despite the Telangana movement and Jagan's poaching.
Besides, he had also to put up with the tantrums of the NTR family, N Harikrishna in particular - both have an uneasy relationship particularly over Naidu's moves to promote his son Nara Lokesh while ignoring Jr NTR, son of Harikrishna.
This election will not only be remembered for Naidu's victory and Jagan's defeat but also for the annihilation of the Congress and former chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's Samaikyandhra Party in Seemandhra.
Both parties drew a blank. PCC chief N Raghuveera Reddy and former PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana were among the Congress heavy weights who fell in the battlefield.
Modi wave and actor Pawan Kalyan's glamour too helped the TDP. According to Lokesh, all these factors have helped the party win. 'More importantly, people knew that if there was anyone who could develop the state, it is Naidu only,' Lokesh said.
News Posted: 17 May, 2014
|
