A political rumour is doing rounds in Amaravati these days claiming that Andhra Octopus Lagadapati Rajagopal had given 130 MLA seats to the ruling Telugu Desam Party in the 2019 elections. Rajagopal had met Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati last week. While what transpired between them is not known, a minister from Guntur district had pushed some points into circulation claiming that the former Congress MP had given a detailed report of his latest survey on the 2019 elections which favoured 130 MLA seats to the TDP.
The Minister is said to have intentionally floated a few leaks into the media, which are widely being circulated in the social media. It is said that Chandrababu Naidu himself is anticipating 90 seats for his party in the next election, while Lagadapati had given him a whopping 130 seats. Lagadapati’s claim, according to the rumours in circulation, is that Chandrababu Naidu’s image had gone up after he broke the alliance with the BJP. The survey saw a total shift of Muslim votes to the TDP, which went to YSR Congress in the last election. The survey also claims that Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena will eat into the SC vote base of the YSR Congress and not the Kapu vote base of the TDP.
The BJP’s defeat in Karnataka is attributed to Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership, as per the survey and people want the TDP chief to stay in power for one more term. The people are also happy with Chandrababu Naidu’s work for the new capital, Amaravati, which has to be continued and people fear that Jaganmohan Reddy would shift the capital from Amaravati if voted to power. This is going deeper into the minds of the people, the survey claims.
Whether Lagadapati had really conducted the survey or not, the TDP leaders are keeping these positive points in circulation to build a positive image for the party ahead of the next round of elections. Taking advantage of Lagadapati meeting Chandrababu Naidu, the TDP leaders are spreading positive word in favour of the party and the media is circulating the same to change the mood of the people in TDP’s favour. However, it is to be seen if it works in TDP’s favour when the election bells ring in May 2019.
