The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) apprehends little threat of a wave of public sympathy arising in favour of the TDP after its national president N. Chandrababu Naidu was imprisoned over an alleged scam, and on the contrary, is hopeful of achieving a ‘positive vote’ in the forthcoming elections.
Never before in the history of the State has a ruling party enjoyed a positive vote. For the first time, the YSRCP will retain power with at least 60% vote share, say ruling party leaders, firmly dismissing speculation that the alliance between the TDP and JSP will dent the YSRCP’s prospects of victory.
“Contesting the elections alone has been the policy of the party from the beginning. There is no change in that. The party will contest the 2024 elections individually,” the party’s national general secretary V. Vijaya Sai Reddy says.
“People know that it is a clear case of fraud committed by Mr. Naidu. There is substantial evidence. How can sympathy be a factor? Does anyone like to see public money being squandered?” Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy asks.
“All the surveys indicate that over 70% of the voters are in favour of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his government,” says YSRCP general secretary and Government Adviser (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy.
“Various factors might play a role by the time elections are round the corner. Even then, the YSRCP would definitely get 60% votes. If over 50% of the votes are polled in favour of the YSRCP, what impact would any alliance have?” he says.
It may be recalled that the YSRCP, which bagged 151 seats in the 175-member Assembly in the 2019 elections, had polled 49.95% of votes (1,56,83,592). Its share was 10% more than the votes polled by the dethroned TDP. The TDP’s vote share stood at 39.18% (1,23,01,741).
In 2014, the YSRCP bagged 70 seats, while the vote share was 27.88%. In comparison, the TDP had bagged 117 seats by securing 32.53% votes. In that election, the TDP vote share went up by 4.4% compared to the 2009 election. In 2019, though the TDP saw its vote share going up to 39.17%, it could win only 23 Assembly seats.
