TDP-BJP alliance sweeps to power in Seemandhra; Cong routed

Hyderabad, May 16: The TDP-BJP combine today stormed to power in the residual state of Andhra Pradesh, commonly known as Seemandhra, as Congress was virtually wiped out in the Assembly polls which were held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections.

Riding "the Modi wave", the TDP-BJP alliance bagged 99 seats at the last count, with YSR Congress Party securing 64. The region has a total of 175 Assembly segments.

A vigorous campaigning by Telugu film star Pawan Kalyan, a die-hard Narendra Modi fan, too apparently helped the BJP-TDP combine. TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, who has been winning from Kuppam in Chittoor district since 1989, retained the seat this time also, while YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy won from Pulivendula in Kadapa district.

Naidu would be returning as a Chief Minister after a decade, having been in the opposition for two terms in the pre-bifurcated Andhra Pradesh. Congress slumped to its worst performance with all its leaders, including the Andhra Pradesh Congress chief N Raghuveera Reddy, biting the dust.

PTI