TDP-led alliance to make near-clean sweep in Andhra Pradesh: Matrize Exit Poll

Amaravati, June 2 (IANS) The TDP-JSP-BJP alliance is likely to sweep the Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh by bagging 20-22 of the state's 25 seats, the Matrize Exit Poll predicted. 

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which won 22 seats in 2019, may be reduced to 3-5 seats this time.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which contested 17 seats under the seat-sharing agreement with the Jana Sena Party (JSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is likely to win 16 of them. The Chandrababu Naidu-led party may lose only the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, where the YSRCP has an edge in the very tough contest, says Matrize.

The Jana Sena, led by actor-politician Pawan Kalyan, is likely to win both the seats it contested (Kakinada and Machilipatnam) after drawing a blank in 2019. The BJP, which contested six seats, is predicted to win two seats - Narsapuram and Tirupati, both of which it had won in the past. It is locked in a tough fight with the YSRCP in two other constituencies - Anakapalli and Rajahmundry (which it had won earlier too).

The agency predicted a TDP win in Amalapuram, Anantapur, Bapatla, Chittoor, Eluru, Guntur, Hindupur, Kurnool, Nandyal, Narasaraopet, Nellore, Ongole, Srikakulam, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Vizianagaram. Naidu’s party is likely to retain all three seats it won in 2019 and wrest the remaining 13 from the YSRCP.

The YSRCP is likely to retain the Araku, Kadapa, and Rajampet seats.

Simultaneous elections to the 175-member state Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats were held on May 13 and a heavy voter turnout of 82.73 per cent was recorded.

It was a direct fight between the YSRCP and the alliance led by the TDP. For Lok Sabha seats, 454 contestants are in the fray and the prominent among them are state BJP chief D. Purandeswari (Rajahmundry), state Congress President Y.S. Sharmila Reddy (Kadapa), and former Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, now in BJP, from Rajampet.

Exit polls were divided on the outcome of Assembly elections. Some organisations predicted victory for the TDP-led alliance, others forecast that the YSRCP will retain power. In 2019, the YSRCP secured a landslide victory, winning 151 of the 175 Assembly seats with a 49.95 per cent vote share. The TDP could secure 23 seats with 39.17 per cent of the votes while the remaining seat went to the Jana Sena.

In the previous elections, the TDP went alone while the Jana Sena had an alliance with the BSP and the Left parties. The BJP, which contested on its own, drew a blank in both Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. This time, for the Assembly, a total of 2,387 candidates are in the fray. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (Pulivendula), Chandrababu Naidu (Kuppam), and Pawan Kalyan (Pithapuram) are among the key candidates.

--IANS

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