Lack of second-rung leaders cost Desam

Though exit polls had rightly foreseen the fall of the N Chandrababu-led Telugu Desam government in the Andhra Pradesh, none had predicted the kind of windfall the Congress and its ally the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) would reap.

Why did the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) lose the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections so badly?

It was not for want of trying on the part of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. These elections saw one of the costliest campaigns the state had ever witnessed, with an estimated expenditure of close to Rs 2,000 crore. The TDP alone is estimated to have spent more than Rs 1,300 crore on these elections.

But money can overcome only certain kinds of problems. Naidu's problem was his larger-than-life image. The most high-profile chief minister in the country, with a reputation of micro-managing issues in the party and the state government, could not handle problems like keeping anticipated dissidence at bay, or quell questions about his autocratic style of leadership. He also could not ensure the development of a vibrant second rung of leadership within the party.

Critics point out that it was Naidu's insecurity as a leader that prevented him from allowing a strong second-rung leadership to take hold of the reins of the party. "This will adversely impact the TDP in its efforts to recoup and make a strong and spirited effort at coming back to power," a political observer pointed out.

Naidu, who took the art of politics to a professional level by introducing surveys and exit polls to gauge the mood of the masses, was confident of a victory till the last. He actually got the party machinery involved in a post-mortem exercise right after the second phase of elections in the state got over.

After this exercise, he even went to the extent of pronouncing the exact number of seats he expected the TDP to win. In one of his recent interactions with the media, he announced that the TDP would get at least 160 seats. He rubbished exit polls conducted by some TV channels, which predicted a Congress victory, as "unscientific".

"As he introduced reforms and charged farmers for power, Naidu was seen as a chief minister who was interested more in boosting the information technology industry than providing relief to farmers suffering from the ravages of three years of drought. This worked against him. He deserved to go and the vote is in the right direction," a critic of the TDP pointed out.

"This defeat is psychologically shattering for the morale of the TDP cadre. At the same time, there are no emerging leaders in the party who can actually help lift the sagging spirits of the cadre. Naidu ensured he was the be-all and end-all of the party and he alone has to take responsibility for this kind of a performance by the TDP," a critic within the TDP said.

Addressing a press conference at his residence in the city, just before he was scheduled to meet Governor Surjit Singh Barnala to formally submit his resignation, Naidu accepted defeat and said that his party would extend all cooperation to the new government and play a constructive role as an Opposition in the interests of the people.

Naidu said that people wanted a change, irrespective of the development that his government had ushered in to the state. Refusing to delve into the reasons behind the overwhelming mood shift of the masses, Naidu said that he and his party would sit and analyse the results in the days to come.

"From Hyderabad to Srikakulam and East Godavari districts, the trend is uniform. Many good people with great integrity have lost in these elections. This clearly shows that change was foremost in the minds of the people," Naidu said. "We raised certain issues in the elections, but the people gave their own verdict. We will see what is to be done in future," he added. Naidu said that he had no regrets whatsoever, as he had done his best for the state of Andhra Pradesh.

"We will serve the people, irrespective of whether we are in the government or in the Opposition," he said. "We developed a model state with the right mixture of both welfare and development. I have absolutely no regrets," he said.

He was dismissive of criticism about his government only concentrating on cities, especially Hyderabad, and ignoring the rural areas.

"The results are the same everywhere, including in Hyderabad, which I had never expected," Naidu said. He thanked the people of Andhra Pradesh, the National Democratic Alliance government, officials, government employees, party cadres and leaders for their support in his nine-year tenure as chief minister.