The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Huge swing and a crushing defeat

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 13, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Huge swing and a crushing defeat

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MAY 12. A 7.85 per cent swing in vote share caused the unprecedented defeat of the TDP-BJP combine in the Assembly elections. In the 1999 Assembly elections, the TDP and BJP together had garnered 47.54 per cent of the vote while this time only 39.79 per cent of voters reposed faith in them.

Individually, the TDP got 37.06 per cent votes this time compared to 43.87 per cent five years ago while its ally, the BJP, got 2.63 per cent compared to 3.67 per cent last time.

This led to a fall of 133 seats in the TDP tally while the BJP was reduced to two seats from 12 held in the last Assembly.

Significantly, only 4.43 per cent of this swing away from the TDP-BJP went to the Congress and allies. The Congress' individual vote share actually declined to 38.24 per cent from 40.61 per cent last time since it gave 60 seats to its new allies.

But this alliance gave them 48.37 per cent of the votes cast.

Only 11 of the 870 independents who contested won the election getting 6.55 per cent of the votes. Other parties like the BSP with 1.25 per cent vote share and Janata Party with 0.85 per cent vote share also benefited from the TDP-BJP vote haemorrhage.

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Andhra Pradesh