The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) registered a landslide victory in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh, seen as a stunning comeback for N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is set to become the chief minister for the fourth term.

In what turned out to be a resurrection of Naidu’s flagging political career, the TDP-BJP-Jana Sena Party (JSP) alliance decimated the YSR Congress Party led by chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Though Reddy banked heavily on his welfare schemes, the electorate ensured that the YSRCP was nearly wiped out in the state Assembly and the Lok Sabha, which the party had dominated in the 2019 parliamentary elections.

The TDP had won 122 and was leading in another 12 seats, according to the Election Commission website at 10pm, while its allies JSP won 20 and led in one, the BJP won six and led in two seats. The YSRCP won seven seats and led in five. The sweep gave Naidu the ability to form the government on his own.

Naidu won by 48,006 votes in Kuppam, while his rival Jagan won by 61,687 votes in Pulivendla. JSP’s Pawan Kalyan won by a margin of 70,279 votes.

The story was no different in the Lok Sabha polls with the TDP winning and leading in 16 of the 25 seats in the state. The BJP and JSP won three and two seats respectively. The YSRP won three and led in one seat, down from 22 it had won in 2019.

The BJP was likely to do better than four seats in Telangana and gain a few in Andhra Pradesh, where it is in alliance with the TDP and the JSP, apart from Karnataka. The ruling YSRCP that won 22 of the 25 seats in Andhra Pradesh in 2019 is, however, faced with a tough challenge from the NDA alliance that’s likely to do better than the three
won by the TDP last time.

The Congress led by Jagan’s sister, Y.S. Sharmila, could not make any impact in either of the Houses.

The JSP headed by actor-turned-politician Kalyan had aligned with Naidu following the latter’s arrest in a skill development corporation scam in September 2023 and spent nearly two months in jail. Already an NDA ally, the JSP gradually led the TDP to the front.

Naidu had led his party out of the NDA before the 2019 elections upset over the Centre not keeping its promise to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation when Telangana was formed in 2014. He had then moved to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance before returning to the NDA camp days before the last elections.

Naidu, who had served as the chief minister of the state from 2014 to 2019, was dealt a severe blow with the YSRCP sweeping the 2019 elections.

The victory also meant that Naidu’s plan to chart the course of a strong political career for his son Nara Lokesh would be intact.

Lokesh was leading by over 80,000 votes when this report was filed.