Janadesh’ or ‘peoples verdict’ in Andhra Pradesh is extraordinarily explicit. At least for the next five years, it is the end of the road for Nara Chandrababu Naidu and his family fiefdom Telugu Desam Party (TDP). In its four-decade long history, the TDP’s tally of 20 out of 175 assembly seats is its lowest. Add to that a meager tally of three Lok Sabha seats. Credit is due to go to Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, who achieved a remarkable feat—His YSR Congress Party won 154 assembly seats, besides 22 of Andhra’s 25 Lok Sabha seats. Surely, his ‘historic padayatras’ endeared him to the common man.
The key lesson: pre-poll freebies and tall promises cannot be a substitute for failing to deliver during a five-year term. Regional satraps like Naidu and K. Chandrasekhara Rao should also be wary of boundless ambition and overweening arrogance. Cronyism in the aid of corruption is another canker. Use of friendly media houses cannot fool an aspirational, young electorate for long too.
In 2014, Naidu led his TDP in...
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