NEWS
VIEWS
INTERVIEWS
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
ISSUES '98
MANIFESTOS
OVERHEARD
POLLING BOOTH
INDIA SPEAKS!
YEH HAI INDIA
CHAT
ELECTIONS '96

Exit Poll: Congress stays at 22, BJP wins 4, TDP 15 in AP

Sonia Gandhi's many rallies have had absolutely no effect on the Congress party's performance in Andhra Pradesh, according to Doordarshan's Exit Poll.

The Congress is expected to win 22 seats, the same number it won the last time.

The ruling Telugu Desam Party, which was expected to do badly in the election, has managed a last minute rally. The TDP and its allies like the CPI-M are likely to win 15 seats, four less than what it holds at present, but better than the 10 to 12 seats predicted earlier.

The BJP gains at the TDP's expense, winning four seats. These seats might be ones in urban areas.

In terms of percentage swings, the BJP shoots up, gaining 20 per cent of the vote in its favour, while the Congress and TDP respectively lose three and five per cent.

Andhra Pradesh has been racked by a series of suicides by impoverished farmers (the figure is put as high as 100), and poll pundits had predicted that this would go against the TDP and benefit the Congress.

Elections '98

Tell us what you think of this report