AP: Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP set for landslide victory in Lok Sabha, Assembly polls

NEW DELHI: The Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is set to make a comeback to power in Andhra Pradesh with a landslide victory in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls as per the early trends of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

As per the Election Commission data, the Jana Sena Party is leading on 19 seats, the BJP on 7 seats while the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) is leading on 13 seats in Andhra Pradesh. In the Lok Sabha polls, TDP is leading on 16 seats, YSRCP on 4 seats, BJP on 3 and JNP on 2 seats, the poll body said.

The Andhra Pradesh Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are witnessing a triangular contest between the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), the Congress-led INDIA coalition, and the BJP-led NDA alliance, comprising Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and the Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP).

The exit polls on Sunday have predicted victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly polls held on May 13. The Axis My India predicted 78-96 seats for TDP, 55-77 seats for YSRCP, 16-18 seats for JSP, 4-6 seats for BJP, and 0-2 seats for Congress.

The Assembly polls took place on May 13 in a single-phase polling process. Polling for all 175 seats of the State Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh was held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.

The ruling YSRCP contested on all 175 seats eyeing another term while as part of a seat-sharing arrangement among NDA partners, TDP is contesting on 144 assembly seats, Jana Sena on 21, and BJP on 10.

During the 2019 elections, YSRCP registered a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh, winning 151 of the 175 seats in the Assembly, dethroning the TDP government.

Meanwhile, the BJP-led NDA is heading towards a majority in the Lok Sabha polls, but with reduced strength from its 2019 tally as the opposition INDIA alliance put up a strong performance, riding on the gains by its constituents with Congress also showing resilience in the crucial electoral fight.

The BJP-led NDA is leading on 295 seats, the INDIA bloc is ahead on 231 seats and Others on 17, according to the latest Election Commission trends.

In the counting taken up on Tuesday after the marathon seven-phased Lok Sabha election, the states presented contrasting pictures with BJP gaining ground in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, but poised to suffer losses in crucial Hindi heartland states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Some big names from the BJP including Union Minister Smriti Irani, Maneka Gandhi and Ajay Kumar Teni are trailing.

The BJP had won a majority on its own in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. It won 282 seats in 2014 and improved its tally to 303 seats in 2019 elections. The BJP had set a target of winning 370 seats in the 2024 general elections.

The BJP-led NDA, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fought Lok Sabha elections for a third straight term in office.

The Lok Sabha elections were conducted in seven phases- on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. (ANI)