Naidu's return to power redefines Andhra's political history in '24

The year 2024 redefined the political history of Andhra Pradesh with the grand return of N Chandrababu Naidu as the chief minister, securing the largest-ever electoral margin.

- Srinivasa Rao Apparasu

HYDERABAD:

The year also recorded unprecedented floods in the Krishna river, which inundated several parts of Vijayawada, and high drama surrounding allegations of adulteration of the sacred Tirumala laddu with animal fat, a controversy that reverberated across the nation.

It was a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo, who endured one of the most turbulent phases of his life after spending 53 days in jail in connection with the ₹371-crore State Skill Development Corporation scam.

However, the 74-year-old Naidu mounted a strong comeback against the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), led by then chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, in the state assembly and general elections held in May. While the Jana Sena Party (JSP), headed by actor Pawan Kalyan, stood firmly behind him, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also joined hands with the TDP and JSP to form a formidable alliance.

The TDP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept the assembly polls, securing 164 out of 175 seats. Of these, the TDP won 135 out of the 144 seats it contested, the JSP achieved a 100% strike rate by winning all the 21 seats it contested, and the BJP secured eight out of the 10 seats allocated to it as part of the alliance.

Jagan Mohan Reddy, who had entered the electoral battlefield with a supreme confident slogan of "Why Not 175?", banking on his welfare-driven governance model, suffered a humiliating defeat. The YSRCP, which had won 151 assembly seats in 2019, was reduced to just 11 seats in 2024.