The pro-development image of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N Chandrababu Naidu, positive impact of Jana Sena (JS) President K Pawan Kalyan and a welfare-oriented manifesto drove the TDP-JS-BJP Front to a landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections 2024.
While the victory of the front was expected in some quarters, it came as a surprise as TDP alone crossed the magic figure to form the government by winning 136 seats on its own.
The victory of the front (NDA Alliance) has been driven by a combined poll strategy of TDP and JS which is supported by the BJP. Key issues such as lack of jobs, absence of new industry investments, delay in Polavaram Project and `ill-treatment’ given to the farmers of the Amaravati region and a strong cadre augured well for the victory of the opposition.
As a senior leader, Naidu did have a clean image and his arrest and imprisonment for his alleged involvement in skill development case earned him much needed sympathy of the voters.
Well played
The front played its cards well on the issue of welfare while launching a tirade against lack of development in the State in Jagan Reddy’s government.
The campaign of YSRCP based on a contention that welfare schemes would be stopped if TDP was voted to power has been dealt with its own welfare schemes. In its ‘Super Six’ welfare promises, TDP countered the Navaratnas of Jagan Reddy.
The promises included 20 lakh jobs to the youth over the next five years, an unemployment allowance of ₹3,000 per month, ₹15,000 per year to all the school-going students, ₹1,500 per month to all women in the age group of 19-59, three gas cylinders per household every year and free travel to women in RTC buses.
Campaigning
A mega DSC notification for teacher recruitment in the State and rollout of the contributory pension scheme for the state government employees surely wooed voters to vote for a change of government in the State. Naidu, who is seen as a ‘favourite’ of industry, also promised ₹10 lakh investment subsidy for SMEs and start-ups.
The NDA Alliance was successful in convincing the voters about the ‘corruption and perils’ of the alleged land, liquor and sand mafia in the State which were `state-sponsored’ in Jagan Reddy’s rule. Another master stroke was the issue of new land-titling act which created resentment along with the tricky move of printing Jagan Reddy’s picture on Pattadar Passbooks of the farmers. While YSRCP banked on the ‘postive push’ of the volunteer system, the loopholes in the same system were magnified by the TDP-led front.
The plan to shift the Greenfield capital from Amaravati in the name of administrative decentralization by YSRCP government and the delay in implementing the same also worked in favour of the front.