Will NDA power Chandrababu Naidu into trumping Jagan’s ‘Navaratnalu’? Five things to watch out for in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh went to simultaneous elections to its 175 Assembly constituencies and 25 Lok Sabha seats on May 13. The counting of votes will take place in the state on June 4 along with the rest of the country.

Most nationalexit polls have predicted that the N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which fought the elections jointly with Pawan Kalyan’s JanaSena Party (JSP) and the BJP, will return to power, even though several local exit polls have projected the victory of the incumbent Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

The YSRCP, which had stormed to power in the 2019 polls by winning 152 Assembly and 22 Lok Sabha seats, had its task cut out this time, with a resurgent TDP posing a formidable challenge to it. The YSRCP was also hit by large-scale defections due to the party leadership’s decision to replace many candidates or change their constituencies.

Here are five things to look out for in the Andhra Pradesh poll results.

After storming to power, Jagan introduced nine welfare schemes – dubbed “Navaratnalu” (nine gems) – which provided financial assistance via direct benefit transfer (DBT) to various sections, especially women and farmers. The elections are being seen by some quarters as a “referendum” on these measures.

The election results will also throw light on whether the JanaSena Party (JSP) leader Pawan Kalyan – who was said to have played a key role in ensuring the TDP’s return to the BJP-led NDA – has managed to bridge the Kamma-Kapu divide. While Naidu belongs to the Kamma community, Kalyan is a Kapu face. With Kammas and Kapus having been at loggerheads traditionally, the poll outcome would determine whether the two communities have buried their differences in light of the Naidu-Kalyan