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CoverStory

• Downfall The 2014 polls saw a visible decline of Congress-led UPA • Rising star The same year witnessed emergence of BJP under Modi

high command. Even before the mor- Northeast regime in the state polls. In Sikkim,
tal remains of YSR were brought back, At Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, the BJP has hardly any presence. There
people started shouting Jagan as our BJP has set up a huge party office, which was 69 per cent voting for its one seat
CM, which many thought was Jagan’s indicates that it is ready to replace the to the Lok Sabha. The heavy polling of
screenplay, but whatever by the even- Congress as a main political outfit in 78 per cent in Nagaland reflects the
ing of September 2, 2009, more than this sensitive state. It may not be able to changing mood of the electorate in this
90 MLAs signed asking for Jagan as CM. win the Lok Sabha seat from the state, strife-torn stare. In Arunachal, BJP may
Jagan was very young at that time, may but it is quietly percolating down by en- reassert its position for two seats, where
be 36 years. The Congress leadership rolling a large number of volunteers in polling was more than 66 per cent.
ignored him and appointed Konejati this pre-dominant Christian state. Dur-
Rosaiah as the CM. This led to dissent ing the first phase of polling Mizoram Black Money
among Jagan and the loyal followers of and Manipur witnessed a voters’ turn The Election Commission has suc-
YSR, who felt their leader was cheated. out 60 and 78.2 per cent respectively. ceeded in unearthing more than 2600
They established Party or Yuvajana, These states elect one seat each to the crores, which included 607 crores in
Shramika Rythu Congress Party Lok Sabha. cash, liquor worth 198 crores, drug and
(YSRCP), which is now an ally of BJP. The large number of voting in narcotics worth 1091 crores, precious
The polling trend in Andhra Tripura to the tune of 81.8 per cent for metal worth 486 crores, freebies &
Pradesh (25 seats) and Telangana (17 its one seat may go in favor of the rul- other items worth 48 crores.
seats) of more than 66 and 61 per cent ing BJP, which had trounced a left party The seizure of 11.5 crore in cash at
must have satisfied the BJP leader- a cement godown in Vellore district by
ship of their intensive campaign- the IT investigation wing on Monday
ing and poll alliances in these states. The poll strategists appears to have confirmed the Election
Interestingly, the BJP, which is consid- Commission’s worst fears about the in-
ered to be a rightist pro-Hindu outfit, of the ruling BJP, fluence of money in the Lok Sabha polls
has a progressive face in the Andhra who must have been in Tamil Nadu. Intelligence agencies
Pradesh. The Christians in the coastal have estimated that more than 10,000
districts too endorse BJP, may be due worried due to the crores could be pumped in by various
to its alliance with Jagan’s party. The apathy of the party political parties into campaigning and
same political rise for BJP is not vis- for bribing voters in TN and Puduch-
ible in Tamil Nadu, where its alliance volunteers in some erry before the second phase of polling
with the ruling party has so failed could parts of UP, feel on April 18.
not make any impact on the elector- The country may witness more
ate. Both DMK and AIDMK are using elated from the much drama and mudslinging in the ongoing
Hindi banners and pamphlets to woo better response from polls of the Lok Sabha Elections, which
these new voters. However, it is difficult are being conducted in seven phases
to predict that the voters in the state Andhra Pradesh and from April 11 to May 19 this year.
will support the Congress or BJP in
near future. a part of Odisha letters@tehelka.com

Tehelka / 30 april 2019 24 www.Tehelka.com