As campaigning ends for election to both Lok Sabha and the state Assembly in residual Andhra Pradesh or Seemandhra on Monday, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) have claimed to win majority of Assembly seats in the 7 May election to form government.
TDP has claimed to win 147 seats and YSRCP stated that it could win 125 to 130 seats, out the total 175 seats in Seemandhra.
In Andhra Pradesh, the first phase polls have already been held in Telangana, to come into being as a separate state on 2 June. The second phase election in the united AP is to be held in Seemandhra's 10 districts on Wednesday.
Simultaneous polls are to be held to both Lok Sabha and the state Assembly in Seemandhra, which has 25 Lok Sabha seats. While the TDP has forged alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), YSRCP has not forged any alliance with any party. BJP is contesting to four seats and the rest have been left to TDP to contest. The main electoral fight is said to be between TDP and YSRCP, which is headed by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Nara Lokesh, son of TDP president Nara Chandrababu Naidu, has said that TDP will win 147 seats, and to buttress his claims, he cited some intelligence reports. And as the Election Commission itself stated, distribution of inducements like cash and liquor to voters in Seemandhra was rampant by political parties. Both TDP and YSRCP levelled allegations against each other in their campaigning.
In another development, Sabbam Hari, contesting the Lok Sabha election from Visakhapatnam on a ticket from Jai Samaikhyandhra Party, has withdrawn his candidature. He says that if he contests the poll, votes will be split and it may help YSRCP candididate YS Vijayamma win, which he does not want.
Meanwhile, in Telangana, set to become a separate state on 2 June, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has filed a writ petition in the state High Court to prepone the 2 June appointed day to 16 May, the day of Lok Sabha vote counting in the country. But the court has advised TRS to approach the Union government and explain the grievances.
Hyderabad will remain a joint-capital for both Telangana and Seemandhra for 10 years, and after that Seemandhra should have its own capital. Union tourism minister K Chiranjeevi, while canvassing for Congress on Monday, said that he will lobby with the Centre to make Nellore the new capital for Seemandhra, if Congress comes to power at the Centre.
(Ed: VP)
