(Image source from: Seemandhra votes last time as part of Andhra Pradesh})

Seemandhra goes into polls on Wednesday for the last time as part of Andhra Pradesh before the bifurcation of the state into Telengana and Seemandhra. The eighth phase of polling will decide the fate of 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175 Legislative Assembly constituencies in coastal Andhra and Rayalseema.

Today's polling will decide the fate of  key Andhra Pradesh leaders like YSRCP president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and the TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu among others. The verdict of the people of Seemandhra will affect the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well.

Chandrababu Naidu, 65, has alligned his TDP with the BJP. While, Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress has not formed partnership with any political party in this election.

Reddy derives his strength and popularity owing to his father, YSR, who died in a chopper crash in 2009, while he was the Andhra Pradesh chief minister.

The BJP is hoping that its ally TDP will win maximum seats in the 2014 general elections to facilitate an NDA government at the centre after May 16. Naidu's TDP is contesting 21 seats, while the BJP has fielded four candidates in the 25 LS constituencies of Seemandhra.

Chandrababu Naidu is optimistic that the alliance would sweep Seemandhra by winning at least 23 seats.

On the other hand, the Congress is in total disarray in Seemandhra, which holds the party responsible for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telangana.

The Congress, which won 21 seats in the 2009 general elections, is today unsure of its tally in the region. The most optimistic Congress leaders in the region are also unsure if the party would manage to win even half a dozen seats in the 2014 general elections. Even the regional parties are maintaining its distance from the Congress due to the Telangana factor.

However, the Congress may try to woo back the YSR Congress, if the party finds itself within a reachable distance from power at the centre. But at present, Jaganmohan Reddy is not showing any signs of patching up with the Congress.

According to political analysts, Jaganmohan Reddy is keeping his options open and his party is likely to join any alliance – NDA, UPA or Third Front – in case of an indecisive poll verdict.

For both Jaganmohan Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu the stakes are high in this general election to emerge the dominant leader in Seemandhra.

(AW: Pratima Tigga)