In AP, welfare schemes, split in oppn vote help Congress

The ruling Congress has retained power in Andhra Pradesh by bagging over 155 seats in the 294-member state assembly.

This is the first time since 1978 that the Congress has been re-elected to power in the state.

The four-party opposition alliance, the ‘Maha Kootami’ (grand alliance), comprising the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the CPI and the CPI(M), has won 103 seats, well above last time’s performance, but far short of the 148 needed for a simple majority.

Despite the star power of Chiranjeevi, his fledgling Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) could bag just 18 seats. Chiranjeevi himself was defeated in Palakollu Assembly consistency, though he won from the second seat he had contested, Tirupati, by over 10,000 votes.

TRS, which is spearheading a movement for separate statehood for the Telangana region, got a drubbing. It won only 10 of the 48 seats it contested. In the 2004 elections, the party (then in alliance with the Congress) bagged 26 seats.

Among the Maha Kootami members, the two left parties also fared badly. They managed to win only five seats, against the 15 they got in the 2004 elections.

Though actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi's political show fell far short of the aim, his PRP had split the anti-establishment votes, benefitting the Congress.

A plethora of populist schemes initiated by the chief minister, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, also helped the Congress retain power. The party's tally, however, was 30 less than the 185 it won in the 2004 elections.

On the other hand, the TDP nearly doubled its tally, from 46 in 2004 to 88 now. But the Maha Kootami failed to secure a majority due also to internal differences, mutual distrust and failure to take up public issues. It had been obsessed with raising charges against Reddy, which did not cut much ice with the electorate.

The opposition alliance, however, succeeded in mauling the prospects of several Congress heavyweights, particularly in the Telangana region. Alliance candidates defeated state Congress chief D Srinivas and many ministers in the outgoing government.

Among Congress candidates who lost were assembly Speaker Suresh Reddy and ministers Jeevan Reddy, Shabbir Ali, Mohammed Fareeduddin, N Rajyalakshmi, P Venkateshwara Rao, K Ramakrishna, Reddaiah Naik, Chinna Reddy and R Chenga Reddy.