Hyderabad: With the day of counting drawing close, Andhra Pradesh was in the grip of frenzied political calculations, predictions and forecasts on who is going to form the next government in the state.
The state had polled on April 11 both for the 175 member state assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats and both the main rivals ruling Telugu Desam and main opposition YSR Congress were confident of emerging winner on May 23.
While TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu, on the basis of four different surveys commissioned by the party, has told the TDP leaders that the party was going to come to power for a second consecutive term, YSR Congress president Jaganmohan Reddy had started the process of shifting his party headquarters and official residence from Hyderabad to Amarvati.
Jagan has built a sprawling residence-cum-office in Tadepalli area of Amarvati on an acre of land. The new facility was likely to become fully functional and start bustling by May 21, in time for the counting of votes.
Interestingly, Jagan and his party leaders had used his Lotus Pond residence in Jubilee Hills area of Hyderabad as the base for planning and executing the entire election campaign, selecting candidates and deploying resources.
But now the party has started shifting the furniture, computers and other paraphernalia from Hyderabad to its state headquarters in Amarvati.
While Chandrababu Naidu was already in the thick of planning meetings with district leaders and contestants to chalk out the strategy for the counting day, Jagan has summoned a similar meeting with the party leaders and candidates on May 16.
Naidu on the basis of findings of his surveys has told the party leaders that TDP was going to win 110 assembly seats and form a government. YSRCP leaders were also confident of their victory drawing comfort from various media projections.
Senior YSRCP leader Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose on Tuesday told the reporters in Tirupati that YSRCP was going to bag 120 assembly seats and hoist its flag over Amarvati.
Another senior leader and Rajya Sabha member Vijay Sai Reddy wondered if TDP was so confident of its victory why its leader commissioned four different surveys.