Assembly Election results 2019: Counting in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha begins; litmus test for Chandrababu Naidu, Naveen Patnaik

Lok Sabha elections 2019 may have taken all the limelight but assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are equally important. Incumbent chief minister Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh is seeking re-election against a strong challenge from his rival, Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSR Congress.

Counting for 175 assembly seats and 25 lok sabha seats have begun in Andhra Pradesh. This is the first election in the state since Telangana was carved out in 2014. The direct contest is between Naidu’s Telegu Desam Party and Reddy’s YSR Congress.

TDP has 102 lawmakers in Vidhan Sabha with YSR Congress having 67 MLAs. BJP has four lawmakers in the state. Left parties have made their debut in the state and might make some dent in the upcoming results.

In Odisha, incumbent chief minister Naveen Patnaik is fighting for his legacy. His party Biju Janata Dal has 117 lawmakers out of 147 assembly seats. Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party has 16 MLAs, while BJP has 10. Local party Samata Kranti Dal has 1 lawmaker and CPI-M has one to their name.

Out of 21 lok sabha seats in Odisha, BJD won 20 seats in 2014, while Bharatiya Janata Party under Modi wave got only one to their name. BJD is not an ally of BJP in centre but might go with NDA after counting ends.

The 60-member assembly state of Arunachal Pradesh was a Congress bastion once but the BJP is ruling now. In 2014, Congress won 44 seats but 33 of its lawmakers led by Pema Khandu joined People’s Party of Arunachal Pradesh (PPA) which later merged into BJP. The state has 2 lok sabha seats and both congress and BJP holds one each.

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