JOIN USThe last time a Congress government was voted back to power was in 1978. Initially, May 20 was suggested as the date for swearing-in as it was considered an “auspicious” day. However, the date has not yet been finalised. Meanwhile, the Congress Legislature Party is likely to meet on May 19. The election of YSR as its leader is a foregone conclusion.
Meanwhile, analysts have pointed out that the Congress victory was due to the splitting of anti-Congress votes between the Congress, the Telugu Desam Party, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the Praja Rajyam Party, the two Left parties and the Lok Satta Party in most urban constituencies. In at least 50 assembly seats, Congress candidates won by narrow margins.
Though earlier it was assumed that the PRP would damage the prospects of the Congress with Chiranjeevi’s glamour and the alleged anti-incumbency sentiment working in its favour, it is now clear that the PRP drew away TDP voters while there was no evidence of an anti-incumbency.
The Lok Satta Party of former bureaucrat Jayaprakash Narayan too inflicted damage on the major contenders by cutting into their votes. The party contested 25 seats in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts, but won only one seat, Kukatpally. Almost all the LSP candidates got sizeable votes, ranging from 10,000-18,000, which made the difference between victory and loss.
The Election Commission on Sunday announced that the Congress got 36 per cent of vote share while the TDP’s vote share was 26.36 per cent. While the Opposition may point out that 74 per cent of the voters had voted against the Congress, the system of first-past-the-post determines the victor and it is here to stay.