Telugu Desam candidates woo voters in Andhra campaign blitz

Kurnool: Andhra Pradesh is heading for a big political change as the Telugu Desam Party wave sweeps across the regions of coastal Andhra and Rayala Seema.

The areas are set to go to polls in the second phase on Wednesday.

After a gruelling 1,500km-long journey through ten districts - that coincided with the end of a bitter and acrimonious campaign by rival political parties - it was clear that Telugu Desam had recovered most of the ground it had lost in 2004.

The whirlwind campaign tour started from East Godavari to Kurnool crisscrossing Godavari and Krisna Delta, Prakasham, Nellore, Chittoor, Ananjtapur and Kadapa.

As many voters said they would like to see TDP back, there were signs that Chandrababu Naidu will reclaim his throne from where he was unseated by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy five years ago.

The yearning for change is so strong in some districts and the electoral equation has completely changed compared to the last elections. In districts where TDP could hardly get seats in the assembly, the Congress party was now facing the threat of meeting the same fate.

Of the 140 assembly seats going to the polls in the first phase, TDP was contesting 131 seats leaving nine to its left allies Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) and Communist Party of India (CPI).

The TDP was also ahead in 68 seats and was caught in a tough fight in 22 other constituencies.

The Congress party on the other hand was leading only in 38 of the 140 seats. Meanwhile, Praja Rajyam Party which was largely expected to do well in the second phase was again in for a big disappointment as it was ahead only in 11 of the 140 seats it was contesting.