AP Assembly Elections 2019: Chandrababu Naidu to resign after YSRCP win

Towards the end of polling Andhra Pradesh, the state's CM N. Chandrababu Naidu holds on to a sizeable lead in his assembly constituency of Kuppam. However, Naidu's party faces a landslide electoral defeat in the state elections. 

Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress party has a massive 152 seats in Andhra Pradesh, while the TDP and INC combined have won just 23 seats — down 80 seats from their last tally.

In the Lok Sabha elections, the TDP has managed just a single seat. The scale of the loss is such that news outlets are reporting that Chandrababu Naidu will submit a resignation to the governor this evening.

Chandrababu Naidu had been chief minister of Andhra Pradesh for three terms, once each in 1995, 1999 and 2014. In a twist of fate, the elections he lost in between — in 2004 and 2009 — were at the hands of Jaganmohan's father, YS Rajasekhara 
Reddy.

When he spoke to THE WEEK in April, he was confident of his party's prospects of winning. However, the body-language of the usually-calm chief minister betrayed his anxiety about the election.

His opponent, Jaganmohan Reddy, performed a 3,600km padyatra across Andhra Pradesh in preparation for the election. He told THE WEEK, in January, that he believed in destiny. 

The Congress, TDP's ally in the state, did not manage even a single seat in the parliamentary election. 

The YSR Congress, who will come to power in the state, have promised to ally with any party that offers "special status" to Andhra Pradesh. In March of 2018, Chandrababu Nadu pulled his ministers out of the NDA government at the Centre after Arun Jaitley denied his request for special status.

Modi congratulated Jaganmohan on his win on Twitter.

At press time, the NDA have pulled ahead in 346 seats across the country, with the UPA leading in just 91.