June 2 , 2008

Bye election results – cleared a lot of air

Thank God it is all over now!! There are two big winners in these elections and interestingly they are two hard core rivals - TDP and Congress.

The people of Telangana obviously lost faith in TRS. They had enough of it and opted for either Congress or TDP. The tactics of TRS to enforce elections again and again boomeranged on them this time. This is what happens when you stretch anything too long. Don’t mock at the election system and still expect the people to support you blindly. It is no longer a “development deprivation” sentiment anymore. The loss of TRS in interior and rural areas of Telangana proves this fact. It is clear that people in Telangana prefer a more stable government than a separate statehood sentiment. Losing deposit in two seats and being third place in 8 locations proves that the Telangana people rejected TRS on the whole.

It is an emphatic victory for YSR and Congress. Hats off to YSR for his guts. He proved to be a real politician. He excelled in many ways. He proved that his “people pulse” reading is accurate than many others’. He reiterated to his “high command” that he has full control over his cadre. He almost turned the tables around and proved that TRS had won last election because of Congress but “not the other way”. It is becoming a habit of Congress to pull off unexpected victories. They recorded unprecedented gains last time with TRS and this time against TRS. Definitely this is a big relief for Congress “high command” who is reeling under humiliation from Karnataka and other recent Assembly election results. This is such a morale boosting victory for congress in AP.

TDP has every right to celebrate these results. They are the biggest beneficiary in vote back gain compared to 2004 elections. All the votes they gained are regained from either Congress or TRS from previous elections. The fact that they stayed in the second place in 8 constituencies proves this fact. Winning the strategically strong Warangal MP seat is a big milestone for them. The TDP cadre is definitely upbeat over the results.

These results are kind of mixed news for Chiranjeevi. They would help him to make up his mind much clearer on the sensitive issue of Telangana. However, it is clear that there is no “anti wave” against either TDP or Congress in these elections. So, people are still considering them as strong alternatives. There is no indication of a big “void” for a new player in the game. His probable allies Lok Satta and CPI have lost deposits in almost all the constituencies they contested. This is definitely not good news for him. Moreover both TDP and Congress are morally rejuvenated with these successes. Will his charisma and his new party’s strategy carry him all the way? That will be interesting to wait and see.

Undoubtedly these results are a big relief for real estate folks in Hyderabad. The biggest threat for them is almost eliminated. The “uncertainty” phase has gone, at least for now.

As soon as the results came out, they already set a bigger stage for an upcoming political marathon in the state. Now we can expect to see a flurry of party switching, finger pointing etc among these parties. No matter what, it is going to be an action packed elections season coming up in both AP, centre and also in USA as well. Politics is in the air….....

- Uppaji Kothapalli

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