The stage is set for a bitter battle in Seemandhra. The fight is mainly between the TDP-BJP combine and the YSR Congress Party; the Congress has virtually shut itself out of the reckoning because of its decision to split Andhra Pradesh.
At stake in the 13 Seemandhra districts are 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats. Seasoned politicians, industrialists, film stars and crorepatis will slug it out in the simultaneous elections slated for Wednesday.
TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu is wooing voters with the slogan of “grand future development” of Seemandhra. YSR CP leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy, on the other hand, is offering continuation of a “fulfilled past” (welfare schemes of the YS Rajasekhar Reddy Government).
That Naidu and Jagan are on a do-or-die mission is clear from the high-voltage, no-holds-barred campaign, where money and liquor allegedly flowed freely. For Naidu, a defeat could well mean the end of the political road in the State. For Jagan, it may mean more problems for his businesses, already under a cloud.
Considering the big picture, the party that gets more than 15 Lok Sabha seats can play a crucial role at the Centre. Naidu has taken a calculated gamble of joining the NDA in a pre-poll alliance. Given the uncertainties, ironically, Jagan is also not averse to sailing with the NDA.
To win, the 64-year-old Naidu has pulled out every trick in the book and also done some give-and-take. He prevailed over a resentful cadre to work with the BJP, gave ticket to many ex-Congress heavyweights who jumped ship, and accepted Pawan Kalyan’s Power-star act. In his zeal to attract the Kapus, he even promised Deputy CMs posts to a Kapu and a person belonging to a BC.
The TDP chief is showcasing the development of Hyderabad and IT sector plus his administrative capability to sell the idea of fast-tracking Seemandhra’s progress. To balance his World Bank poster-boy image, Naidu has been promising doles to women, jobs to youth and loan waivers to farmers. “Naidu in State and Modi at the Centre”, both strongly focused on development, is the image he is projecting.
The Naidu-Modi-Pawan trio does seem to have made inroads into what could be termed the ‘vocal class’ (middle class, educated youth and the rich). Besides in the agriculture rich Krishna and Godavari districts, the party (five MPs at present) is hoping to do well in most urban pockets in Coastal Andhra, and Anantapur and Chittoor districts of Rayalseema.
Man of massesGiving no quarter, 41-year-old Jagan has turned himself into a man of the masses. Through his Odarpu Yatra (consoling families which lost a member due to suicides post the death of YSR) and intensive political campaigns after emerging from jail on bail, he has logged thousands of kilometres crisscrossing the 13 districts.
The strength of the YSR Congress lies fairly and squarely amongst the ‘silent class’ (the downtrodden, women and minorities). The populist and welfare schemes of the late YSR — Arogyasri (health), Rajiv Gruhakalpa (housing), free education, Jalayagnam (irrigation) etc. — have positively impacted the lives of lakhs of poor.
What Jagan has attempted is reinforce the confidence among the people that voted to power, he will implement all these with a missionary zeal. His mother YS Vijayamma and sister YS Sharmila have done their bit to rev up the campaign.
Now, to the booth.