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The Telugu Desam Party-Bharatiya Janata Party combine stormed to power in the residual state of Andhra Pradesh, commonly known as Seemandhra, as the Congress was virtually wiped out in the assembly polls, which were simultaneously held with the Lok Sabha elections.
Riding the Modi wave, the TDP-BJP alliance bagged 99 seats at the last count, with YSR Congress Party securing 64 seats. The region has a total of 175 assembly segments. A vigorous campaigning by Telugu film star Pawan Kalyan, a die-hard Narendra Modi fan, too apparently helped the BJP-TDP combine.
Complete Coverage: Elections 2014
TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, who has been winning from Kuppam in Chittoor district since 1989, retained the seat this time also, while YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy won from Pulivendula in Kadapa district.
Naidu would be returning as a chief minister after a decade, having been in the opposition for two terms in the pre-bifurcated Andhra Pradesh.
Top Telugu movie star Nandamuri Balakrishna, who is also son of TDP founder-president N T Rama Rao, made an impressive political debut by winning the assembly election from Hindupur segment in Anantapuram district by a margin of more than 16,900 votes.
On the other hand, Congress slumped to its worst performance with all its leaders, including the Andhra Pradesh Congress chief N Raghuveera Reddy, biting the dust.
Image: TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu with BJP leader Prakash Javadekar