Turnout hardly an indicator of voting pattern in Andhra

Turnout in elections is hardly an indicator of the voting pattern in Andhra Pradesh. Voter turnout in the state has remained more or less the same since the 1994 elections, though the outcome of the polls has been quite different.

In the 1994 elections, the voter turnout was 71.02 per cent and the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) registered a landslide victory over the ruling Congress party.

The percentage of polling stood at 69.15 in the 1999 elections. Nevertheless, TDP retained power in the state, though with a reduced majority.

In the 2004 elections, the voter turnout was 69.95 per cent. This time, however, the opposition Congress regained power trouncing the ruling TDP. The Congress and its allies won 36 of the 42 Lok Sabha and 234 of the 284 Assembly seats while the TDP’s tally was reduced to 5 Lok Sabha and 46 Assembly seats.

 

In the current simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and Assembly in the state, the polling percentage declined slightly to 67.44. However, it is anybody’s guess what the voters’ mood was.

In the first phase of polls held on April 16, the average voter turnout was 64.98 per cent. The maximum percentage (75 per cent) of polling was in the Medak parliamentary constituency where Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader and actress Vijaya Shanti is in the fray. The least voter turnout (54 per cent) was in the Hyderabad Lok Sabha segment where Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen is trying to retain the seat.

The first phase covered 154 assembly and 22 Lok Sabha constituencies spread over Telangana and north coastal Andhra.

In the second phase held on April 23, the percentage of polling stood at 69.9. The highest voter turnout in the state was in the Narsapuram Lok Sabha segment (77 per cent). With regard to Assembly polls, the highest voter turnout of 82.7 per cent was in Kuppam where TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu is in the fray.

The second phase covered 140 Assembly and 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in south coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. The entry of Praja Rajyam Party, floated by actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi, into the electoral fray has changed the political equations in the second phase.

A keen triangular contest was witnessed between the PRP, TDP and the Congress in south coastal Andhra, the native of Chiranjeevi. Perhaps, this could be a reason for a higher voter turnout in the second phase compared with the first phase.

Irrespective of the percentage of polling, all the three major contestants for power in the state (Congress, TDP and PRP) are claiming that they are going to form the next government.

On the other hand, political observers predict a hung Assembly. Who is correct will be known only on May 16.