BJP does not seem to be confident as it may have got the arithmetic wrong about winning seats in Andhra Pradesh elections. The saffron party’s expectations are not high as party sources indicated there is a feeling within the party that the defeat is inevitable in the just concluded assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the state.

The kind of enthusiasm BJP was showing before the polling is missing in the party’s rank and file. Ahead of the voting exercise on June 4, the party may have realised that joining the TDP-led alliance was a strategic mistake. As part of the seat sharing agreement, BJP contested from six Lok Sabha and 10 assembly seats.

Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member GVL Narasimha Rao was vying for a Lok Sabha ticket from Visakhapatnam constituency, however, due to the involvement of AP BJP chief D Purandeswari and due to the alliance compulsion, the seat went to Sribharat Mathukumilli, the younger son-in-law of actor-politician N Balakrishna. Narasimha Rao had worked hard to improve the party prospects in Vizag region.

Similarly, former MLC PVN Madhav was also disappointed as he did not get the ticket from Anakapalli assembly seat. BJP leader Tapana Chowdary wanted to contest from Eluru MP seat, however, the TDP fielded Putta Mahesh Yadav, son-in-law of TDP senior leader Yanamala Ramakrishna, as its Lok Sabha constituency from Eluru parliamentary constituency. BJP’s former state unit chief Somu Veerraju was also denied the ticket in the recent elections. The party leadership under Purandeswari denied the tickets to several loyalists in the party.

There is also a talk that the party should not have allocated the Vijayawada West ticket to YS Chowdary (Sujana Chowdary) who is accused for Rs 5,700 bank fraud and this may have sent a wrong signal to the people of the state. Part of the reason for BJP’s disappointment is the TDP’s lack of support to the saffron party during election campaigning and the unrealistic promises made by the TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu in the party’s election manifesto.

The saffron party was hopeful of winning at least 3 Lok Sabha and 5-6 seats assembly in the state However, the fear of defeat is now haunting the BJP as more women turned out for voting on the polling day and the pre-poll survey have indicated that women voters are favouring the ruling YSRCP.

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