2024 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election

The 2024 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election were held in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on 13 May 2024 for constituting the sixteenth Andhra Pradesh Assembly. They were held alongside the 2024 Indian general election. Election results were declared on 4 June 2024. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) popularly referred as Kutami, led by the Telugu Desam Party won the election in a landslide, winning 164 of the 175 seats. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) won 135 out of 144 contested seats, while the Jana Sena Party (JSP) won all the 21 seats it contested with and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 8 out of 10 contested seats. The incumbent YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) only won 11 seats. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) comprising Indian National Congress (INC), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) failed to win any seats.

Background
The tenure of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on 11 June 2024. The previous assembly elections were held in April 2019. After the 2019 election, YSR Congress Party formed the state government, with Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy becoming the Chief Minister.

Schedule
The schedule of the election was announced by the Election Commission of India on 16 March 2024.

Election issues
In the lead-up to the election, several issues have come to light, including demands for special category status, the capital issue and unemployment in the state. Incidents such as Y. S. Vivekananda Reddy’s murder, the attack on Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and legal cases against N. Chandrababu Naidu have also gathered significant attention. Despite facing anti-incumbency, the YSR Congress relies on its welfare schemes, particularly in rural and tribal areas. Meanwhile, the NDA focuses on concerns such as inflation, unemployment and broader development, gaining support in urban areas.

State capital
During the previous five-year tenure of the TDP-BJP government, Amaravati was proposed as the capital for the state of Andhra Pradesh. However, this plan was later scrapped by the successive YSRCP government, which aimed to establish three capitals namely Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Kurnool as executive, legislative and judiciary purposes respectively, as part of a decentralisation initiative which faced legal hurdles and failed to be implemented. While farmers in the Amaravati region opposed this decision, the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance vowed to reinstate Amaravati as the capital. On the contrary Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched Vision Visakha, reaffirming the establishment of Visakhapatnam as the administrative or executive capital.

Alcohol prices and quality
In the previous 2019 election, the YSRCP made a promise to completely ban alcohol in the state. However, it was not fulfilled and instead, prices were increased with the aim of reducing consumption. The TDP-JSP alliance, along with the BJP alleged that this led to what they termed as the nation’s largest liquor scam, with significant financial and health implications for consumers, including the risk of liver diseases. The Alliance has pledged to provide good-quality alcohol at reduced prices, claiming that distilleries and breweries are controlled by members and associates of the ruling party, including those producing local brands with poor-quality. The Alliance leaders also alleged that despite the nationwide shift towards digital transactions, liquor retail outlets in the state have continued to accept cash payments exceeding the Maximum Retail Price (MRP), thereby generating profits for leaders of the ruling party.

Illegal sand mining
The joint committee formed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, submitted a report to the National Green Tribunal on 21 March 2024, revealing ongoing 24-hour illegal sand mining in the inspected regions of Krishna and Guntur districts without valid environmental clearances. The committee was formed in response to petitions alleging illegal sand mining in the state. Additionally, the committee noted that the state government failed to provide information and documents requested from the Department of Mines and Geology regarding district-wise sand reaches allotted, permitted quantities, and violations. Opposition parties have accused ruling party leaders of illegally transporting thousands of lorries of sand daily, with no action taken despite numerous complaints lodged by opposition leaders and local residents.

Naidu's arrest
TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu was arrested on 9 September 2023 in an alleged multi-crore skill development scam. The arrest became an election issue in Telangana, which was then soon to enter state polls, with different political parties in the state rushing to support Naidu to woo Andhra settlers. Naidu's son Nara Lokesh said that Naidu's arrest was unfair and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did the same with firms in Gujarat while he was the state chief minister there.

Land Titling Act
The Land Titling Act of Andhra Pradesh has become a major issue in the elections, leading to counterclaims and allegations between political parties in the state. The act was brought by the Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government, aiming to streamline land records, settle disputes and provide permanent titles. Both the Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena Party have termed it as the Land Grabbing Act. The main opposition party, TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, alleged that the act was designed to take away lands and promised to revoke it if they come to power. He also questioned Chief Minister Jagan for printing his image on the passbook instead of the official emblem of the state. The YSRCP alleged that the TDP is spreading misinformation about the Land Titling Act due to losing confidence in their manifesto. Furthermore, the state government countered the TDP's claims by stating that the Centre has encouraged state governments to enact their own legislation based on drafts proposed by NITI Aayog to suit their requirements. While the BJP, part of the NDA alliance said that the Centre has no authority to enact the land related legislations. The opposition parties within the NDA alliance claimed that this act is in contravention of the laws related to property transfer, evidence, succession and various judicial proceedings, citing violations of property laws and Article 300-A, along with concerns about Title Registration Officers.

Campaigns
Candidates are campaigning by interacting with common people and participating in their daily activities such as making tea, ironing clothes and weighing vegetables. It has become common for primary parties in the state to use movies and songs to promote their own political party while denigrating other party leaders. The use of social media to amplify the reach of such content to voters has become a core strategy for parties.

YSR Congress Party
The YSRCP launched its Why AP needs Jagan campaign on 9 November 2023. The outreach campaign would last for 40 days. Bus yatras will also be taken out in all 175 assembly constituencies during the campaign. The campaign has been criticised by the opposition TDP, which countered the campaign with the slogan Why AP hates Jagan.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy announced a mass contact program called Siddham (We are Ready!) for the election campaign, which was countered by the slogan Samsiddham (We are Prepared!) and Memu Siddhame (We are also Ready!) from the TDP and JSP respectively. The YSRCP has taken up the slogans Maa Nammakam Nuvve Jagan (Jagan is our belief) and Jagananne Maa Bhavishyattu (Jagan is our future) to reach the public for the upcoming election. The party has finalised and announced candidates for all 175 seats in the upcoming general election through multiple lists.

National Democratic Alliance
After huge speculation about an alliance between the TDP and Jana Sena Party (JSP), JSP chief Pawan Kalyan officially announced the tie of both parties in the 2024 polls on 14 September 2023 amidst the arrest of N. Chandrababu Naidu to collectively fight against the incumbent YSRCP. A joint action committee was setup, comprising representatives from both parties.

The first meeting of the committee was held in Rajahmundry on 21 October 2023, addressing public issues, the latest political developments and steps for better coordination between the two parties. Both the TDP and JSP chiefs met on multiple occasions to discuss seat sharing, a common manifesto and other political developments in the state.

On 20 December 2023, to mark the completion of the Nara Lokesh Yuva Galam Padayatra, the TDP and JSP held a joint public meeting called Yuva Galam Navasakam in Polipalli, Vizianagaram district, accommodating around 6 lakh people with Pawan Kalyan attending the meeting.

The initial joint list of the TDP-JSP alliance, comprising a total of 118 seats, was formally released by both party chiefs on 24 February 2024. Of these, 24 seats were allotted to the JSP, with 5 candidates named and 94 seats to the TDP. On 28 February 2024, both parties held a joint public meeting called Jenda in Tadepalligudem, West Godavari district, describing it as a historic necessity to defeat the incumbent YSRCP. They emphasized the importance of saving democracy and promoting the development of Andhra Pradesh, urging party cadres to understand the ground reality.

On 9 March 2024, the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, J. P. Nadda issued a joint official statement on behalf of the BJP, TDP and JSP. The statement announced the admission of the TDP to the NDA and finalised the alliance of the BJP, TDP and JSP for the upcoming legislative assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh.

The alliance members have agreed to contest all 175 seats with TDP in 144, JSP in 21 and BJP in 10. The alliance has finalised the candidates through multiple lists.

Telugu Desam Party
The TDP organised various public outreach programs such as Badude Badudu, Isuka Satyagraha Deekshalu and Jaiho BC to engage with the public and campaign against the YSRCP. The TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh also launched the Yuva Galam Padayatra, a walkathon to reach the public.

Jana Sena Party
Earlier to the official formation of the alliance with the TDP, the JSP chief, Pawan Kalyan launched a Varahi Yatra on 14 June 2023 from Annavaram with a specially designed vehicle named as Varahi to campaign against the YSRCP. The campaign was conducted in multiple phases to reach the public widely.

Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC) launched its campaign Intinti Congress via a statewide door-to-door campaign on 20 January 2024. The recent successes of the INC in the bordering states of Karnataka and Telangana have enthused the party cadre ahead of the state elections. Chief Minister Jagan Reddy's sister Y. S. Sharmila, joined the INC on 4 January 2024 and is currently leading its campaign.

On 22 February 2024, APCC president Y. S. Sharmila and other 40 Congress workers were temporarily detained for protesting against the DSC notification for teacher recruitment. Sharmila herself had reportedly spent the previous night in the party office to avoid house arrest.

On 26 February 2024, at Anantapur, Sharmila and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced a guarantee of ₹5,000 per month to every poor family if the party comes to power. At the meeting, Kharge criticised prime minister Narendra Modi for not according Special Category Status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh. He also said that the TDP, JSP and the YSRCP were all stooges of the BJP. On 1 March, Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot said at a public meeting in Tirupati that the Congress would accord 10-year SCS to Andhra Pradesh immediately if it came to power at the centre.

YSR Congress Party
On 21 April 2024, the party's chief and the chief minister, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, unveiled the party's manifesto at his camp office in Tadepalle, promising to continue existing welfare schemes for the next five years if voted to power.

National Democratic Alliance
On 30 April 2024, both N. Chandrababu Naidu, the chief of Telugu Desam Party and Pawan Kalyan, the chief of Jana Sena Party, unveiled a joint manifesto at Undavalli, promising to create employment opportunities and implementation of other welfare schemes. The BJP, another alliance partner endorsed the TDP-JSP joint manifesto without adding any further assurances as it had already released its own manifesto previously titled "Modi Ki Guarantee".

Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress had released their manifesto titled "Nyay Patra" previously for the general election in the month of March.

Electoral malpractices
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu accused the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) of subverting electoral practices. Subsequently, on 28 August 2023, he lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India to ensure all the eligible voters are included and fake voters are removed. He also demanded an enquiry into the transfer of the electoral data to the private agencies and prevent the appointment of grama volunteers instead of teachers for the election duty. He also submitted a documentary evidence of the deletion of 40,000 votes in Visakhapatnam East, 23,000 votes in Vijayawada Central and also at Parchur, Tadikonda and Uravakonda constituencies.

Stone pelting
On 13 April 2024, a stone was thrown at Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy by an unidentified person while he was campaigning on top of a bus in Vijayawada. The stone narrowly hit the left temple of his eye, avoiding any major injuries and causing a minor cut. While the YSRCP alleged that it was a pre-planned conspiracy to attack their leader, the opposition leader, N. Chandrababu Naidu condemned the act and requested an impartial inquiry by the Election Commission into the incident. Furthermore, the TDP questioned the circumstances and timing of the incident, alleging that it was staged and similar to the knife attack on Jagan weeks before the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, aimed at garnering sympathy for winning the election. Power was switched off during the incident by authorities to prevent Jagan and others standing on top of the vehicle from coming into contact with live wires and overhanging cables. Various politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack.

Election day
The election concluded with a high voter turnout of 81.86%. Darsi recorded the highest turnout at 90.91%, while Tirupati had the lowest at 63.32%. Post-election violence erupted between members of the ruling YSRCP and the main opposition TDP in few districts, particularly in Palnadu, Anantapur and Tirupati. The clashes involved stick fights, stone-throwing, involving the use of petrol bombs along with crude weapons such as sickles, axes and hammers. This led to injuries, burning of vehicles and damage to party offices and houses. The violence caused widespread fear and forced businesses to close. In response, the Election Commission of India has deployed Special Investigation Teams to the affected regions for further investigation and has suspended 12 Subordinate Police officers.

YSRCP MLA, Annabathuni Siva Kumar hit a voter standing in a queue after the voter objected to the MLA for jumping the queue. The voter retaliated by hitting him back, after which the MLA's supporters also attacked the voter. Another YSRCP MLA, Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, stormed into a polling booth with his supporters and destroyed the EVM and VVPAT machines by hitting them to the ground in Macherla.

Exit polls
The ECI has banned exit poll from 19 April 2024 to 1 June 2024. The ban ended after the close of Phase 7 voting at 18:30 IST on 1 June 2024.

Results
The results of the election were announced on 4 June 2024. The NDA, popularly known as Kutami, achieved a sweeping victory securing a total of 164 seats. The TDP won 135 out of the 144 seats it contested, JSP secured all 21 seats it contested and the BJP won 8 out of its 10 contested seats. The incumbent YSRCP faced severe anti-incumbency and managed to win only 11 out of the 175 seats it contested. This result marked the worst defeat in Andhra Pradesh's electoral history, with the YSRCP unable to even secure the position of the opposition in the state. The NDA alliance swept all districts except for the Alluri Sitharama Raju, causing the YSRCP to lose many of its previously considered strongholds. The INDIA alliance failed to win any seats in this election.

Aftermath
With N. Chandrababu Naidu, National President of TDP being unanimously elected as NDA leader in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly backed by the MLA's of the NDA alliance in the state, the NDA formed the government with N. Chandrababu Naidu being sworn in as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth time and Pawan Kalyan as the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The swearing-in ceremony for Naidu's fourth cabinet took place on 12 June 2024 at Kesarapalli, on the outskirts of Vijayawada. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other dignitaries from the NDA alliance and union ministers attended the event. Notable cinema actors, including Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan also graced the occasion.