According to recent counting trends, the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh has gained an advantage in the recent MLC (Member of Legislative Council) elections. The TDP has a clear lead in the graduates' constituency in north-coastal Andhra and is also leading in the Rayalaseema (East) graduates' constituency. In the Rayalaseema (West) constituency, the TDP has also performed well.
However, the candidates backed by the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) have won both MLC seats in the teachers' constituency, Rayalaseema (East) and Rayalaseema (West). The YSRCP candidates won by a narrow margin of around 2,000 and 169 votes respectively.
In the north-coastal Andhra graduates' constituency, the TDP candidate Vepada Chiranjeevi is leading by over 20,000 votes over the YSRCP candidate Seethamraju Sudhakar, who is also the chairman of the AP Brahmin Welfare Corporation.
The final result of the MLC elections may not have any immediate effect on YSRCP but at the same time it is seen as an indicator of the mood of urban and educated voters. This could however serve as a wake-up call for AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy because any urban dissent against the party should be quelled, to taste victory in the next year's assembly elections.
For the TDP, it is finally a relief, but many feel that this cannot be a hint of the mood for 2024 polls since many more factors will come into play. Hence, they feel that it is too early to celebrate for the yellow party which may push it into a complacent situation.
