ABSTRACT
Andhra Pradesh was among states where the main contest was between the state level parties. The TDP and the YSRCP were the main contestants vying for power in the state and not the Congress or the BJP, the two national parties. However, the JSP, another state-level party, was also on the fray along with the INC and the BJP. The YSRCP defeated the TDP as the latter’s government was perceived negatively for focusing on the global capital at Amaravati and for having an inconsistent stand on special category status. Naidu raised the issue quite late after breaking the ties with the BJP ostensibly to gain electorally. The author attributes the outstanding electoral performance of the YSRCP to the padayatra undertaken by Jagan Mohan Reddy like the late YSR, his father, still remembered as a chief minister who cared for the people. The party consistently stood on the demand for the special category status, made populist promises in to implement welfare schemes, reservation for women, and lower castes people to be nominated for the government positions. The campaign also received traction for invoking the YSR political legacy with the slogan of Rajanna Rajyam. The Congress and the BJP were treated as ‘sinful parties’ by the YSRCP leadership for bifurcation of the state and not granting the state special category status.
