Counting of votes in 42 Lok Sabha, 294 Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh tomorrow
Hyderabad: Counting for 42 Lok Sabha and 294 Assembly seats in undivided Andhra Pradesh will be held on Thursday, where states of Telangana and Seemandhra are all set to get their respective governments post division.
The two-phase polls held in Telangana region on April 30 and Seemandhra (collectively known as Andhra and Rayalasema regions) on May 7 were the last elections in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, which is the first State to be created in the country on linguistic basis.
Telangana, with ten districts, would be formally born as India's 29th State on June 2.
The outcome of counting is set to redefine broad political contours in both the regions that under unified Andhra Pradesh have seen successive Congress governments.
Winning candidates would become members of respective first Legislative Assemblies of residuary Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a certainly emotional moment for many.
Bitter campaigning marked the run-up to polls between principal contenders — Congress and TRS in Telangana, and TDP-BJP combine and YSR Congress Party in Seemandhra (residuary Andhra Pradesh).
Polling for 17 Lok Sabha and 119 Assembly seats in Telangana region was held in April 30 and for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats across 13 districts in Seemandhra on May 7.
The Congress which had won 33 of total 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2009 polls has seemingly ceded the ground in Seemandhra as the public anger is directed towards the party for dividing Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana.
Analaysts feel that Congress is facing a rout in Seemandhra region. Prominent candidates in the fray are YSR Congress Party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy (Pulivendula Assembly seat), TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, Union ministers M M Pallam Raju, V Kishore Chandra Deo, Panabaka Lakshmi, Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy and S Jaipal Reddy — all Congress, besides D Purandeswari (BJP).
The TDP, which has struck an electoral alliance with BJP seeking to ride the "Modi wave", and YSRCP of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, son of charismatic former chief minister late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, are the front-runners for CM's chair in Seemandhra.
In Telangana, where 17 Lok Sabha seats are up for grabs, the Congress and TRS hope to come to power on their own in the 119-member Assembly.
In the event of a hung Assembly, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which had seven MLAs in the dissolved Assembly, is likely to emerge as a king maker.
Congress had an "understanding' (not alliance) with MIM in the elections, and also has a seat-sharing arrangement with the CPI.
For TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, who has been out of power for a decade, the Seemandhra election is clearly a do-or-die battle.
A succession plan also seems to be ready in TDP, with Chandrababu's son and heir apparent Nara Lokesh stepping out of cocoon and campaigning vigorously.
Stakes are also high for Jagan, who formed the regional outfit YSR Congress Party more than three years ago. It's the party's first major electoral test.
It's also seen as the make-or-mar polls for TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, who chose to keep his party's identity intact by refusing to merge it with Congress and even having any electoral truck.
Rao has contested for both Lok Sabha and Assembly seats, keeping the options open for playing a role at Centre if his numbers turn out to be crucial.
It's also an acid test for former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who quit the Congress on the bifurcation issue and formed Jai Samaikyandhra Party, seeking to ride the anti-division sentiment in Seemandhra.
