Telugudesam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu’s salvos against Jaganmohan Reddy turned out to be duds as the YSR Congress romped home by winning 15 out of 18 assembly seats in the bypolls where as the TDP failed to register a single victory.
Though none of the constituencies that went for the by-poll on Tuesday belonged to the TDP, any seat won would have been a sweet addition to the main opposition party in Andhra Pradesh.
Political observers speculate that there will be a beeline of MLAs from Congress as well as TDP waiting to join the YSRCP bandwagon with an eye on future polls.
The dismal performance of the late NTR’s party is expected to have an impact on Chandrababu Naidu in the days to come.
To avoid such a scenario, Naidu began his campaign very early and for two months he toiled to bring down Jagan’s image.
He assured that the TDP will win at least half the seats.
Naidu also tried to associate himself with Anna Hazare and urged the latter to launch an anti-Jagan campaign. He addressed media with Baba Ramdev a day before by-polls in an effort to woo the voters.
In a full throttle attack on Congress, Naidu called it a party of “dacoits” and Jagan and his father Y S Rajashekhara Reddy as “thieves”. Almost all the TDP leaders mocked YSR’s widow Vijayamma when she cried after her son’s arrest. The sympathy factor, however, contributed greatly in YSRCP’s victory.
Chakrapaani, a political analyst said time has come for Naidu to sit back and analyze his unruly remarks.
“Instead of approaching courts to bail him out of corruption cases, Naidu should submit himself to a probe for a change in his political fortune,” he added.
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