Naidu's TDP returns to power in Andhra Pradesh
Chandrababu Naidu's TDP won power back in Andhra Pradesh, defeating YSRCP's single-term government.
Naidu's TDP returns to power in Andhra Pradesh
What happened
Telugu Desam Party, led by Chandrababu Naidu, won power in Andhra Pradesh, defeating the governing Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party in a landslide.1
It won 135 of the 175 seats.
That left it 47 seats above the 88-seat majority mark.
The Janasena Party finished second, taking 21 seats on 6.9% of the vote.
The party's vote share — the slice of all ballots cast that went to one party or candidate — came to 45.6% of all votes cast, which converted into 77.1% of the seats under India's first-past-the-post system.
- 1NDA Releases Joint 'Super Six' Manifesto for Andhra Pradesh — Andhra Pradesh NDA partners TDP, BJP, Janasena release welfare-heavy manifesto, Andhra Pradesh election 2024: TDP-BJP-JSP alliance releases poll manifesto, promises 20 lakh jobs, skill census
The campaign
Andhra Pradesh's CID arrested former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on 9 September 2023 over an alleged fraud of more than Rs 300 crore in the state's Skill Development Corporation, dating to his earlier term in office. His arrest became a central issue in the run-up to the election.2
On 11 March 2024, after an eight-hour meeting at Naidu's Undavalli residence, the Telugu Desam Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Jana Sena Party finalised a seat-sharing pact for the National Democratic Alliance. The Telugu Desam Party took 144 assembly seats, Jana Sena 21 and the Bharatiya Janata Party 10.3
On 30 April 2024, Naidu and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan released the alliance's joint manifesto, built around six 'Super Six' promises, including a monthly pension of Rs 1,500 for women aged 19 to 59 and 20 lakh jobs or a monthly unemployment allowance for youth.1
- 1NDA Releases Joint 'Super Six' Manifesto for Andhra Pradesh — Andhra Pradesh NDA partners TDP, BJP, Janasena release welfare-heavy manifesto, Andhra Pradesh election 2024: TDP-BJP-JSP alliance releases poll manifesto, promises 20 lakh jobs, skill census
- 2TDP Chief Chandrababu Naidu Arrested in Skill Development Case — Andhra ex-CM Naidu arrested in Rs 550-cr skill development fraud case
- 3TDP, BJP and Jana Sena Finalise NDA Seat-Sharing Pact — TDP, Jana Sena, BJP reach seat-sharing agreement ahead of Andhra elections
What changed
YSRCP's government collapsed after a single term in office.
The single biggest movement ran from YSRCP to TDP, covering 114 of the 142 seats that changed hands.
TDP itself grew from 23 seats to 135 seats this time.
Turnout, the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot, rose +2.1 pp from the previous election, to 81.8% — the highest the state has recorded.
Notable numbers
Madakasira (Sc), Andhra Pradesh saw the tightest finish of the election: the winner's margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — was 351 votes.
Visakhapatnam South, Andhra Pradesh saw the widest margin of the election, with the winner finishing 46.4% of the vote ahead of the runner-up — the same constituency also recorded the lowest turnout anywhere, 64.2%.
Turnout peaked at Darsi, Andhra Pradesh, where 91.9% of registered voters cast a ballot — the highest of any seat in the state.
Bhimili, Andhra Pradesh had the largest electorate anywhere in the state, with 3,64,304 registered voters on its rolls.
Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh drew the most candidates of any seat, 47 names on the ballot.
Across the state, 3,59,509 voters chose NOTA — 'None of the Above,' a ballot option letting voters formally reject every candidate on offer — 1.1% of all votes cast.
The backdrop
N T Rama Rao founded TDP in 1982, and it won the 1983 election, ending 27 years of Indian National Congress rule in the state.4
YSRCP was registered by Jagan Mohan Reddy in March 2011, after he left Congress the previous year.5
Andhra Pradesh itself was divided in 2014, splitting it into Telangana and a residuary Andhra Pradesh, with Hyderabad serving as Telangana's capital and Andhra Pradesh's temporary capital.6
- 4Telugu Desam Party Founded, Ends Congress's Unbroken Rule — Telugu Desam Party
- 5YSR Congress Party Founded — YSR Congress Party
- 6Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 — Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014