‘Look, look YSR too has a web portal of his own’

Initial looks of disbelief over the extent of the TDP rout gave way to myriad expressions as the verdict began to sink in. If some appeared nervous, others waved you away, saying reporters had no business seeking reactions from officials and getting them into trouble.

But there were many others who couldn’t contain their glee: ‘‘Congrats, many congrats, sir. Happy, na? We’re finally home… this was overdue.’’ You could tell Chandrababu Naidu was no longer Andhra’s face to the rest of India and the world.

Downloads from http://www.ysrportal.com were doing the rounds and fingers were being jabbed at paragraphs to point out that the man likely to take charge was no stranger to IT or Cyberabad:

‘‘Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s bias for agriculture is well known. But it is yet to be known that his concern for IT is no less. He is worried about the falsehood of AP being projected as the IT hub of the country.

‘‘Cross checking the hype with his facts he has this to say: neighbouring Karnataka accounted for about Rs 15,000 crore worth of software exports in the last financial year while software from Andhra Pradesh for the same period were pegged at Rs 3,000 crore. Earlier AP was ranked third in the country in software exports. Now it has slipped to the fifth place after Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Noida. This vision places him among the sanest policy makers of the country.’’

Everyone agreed. None wanted to be seen, heard disputing any of what was said in the download, not after the YSR sweep.

Chandrababu was blamed for all of Andhra’s ills: erratic power supply for agriculture, unprecedented dry spells in the Krishna, Godavari deltas, rampant unemployment, especially among educated youth, and the fear among government employees that they would be made to retire at age 55 instead of 58.

And YSR? His promises were the exact opposite. ‘‘He has promised farmers free electricity, waiver of arrears. He is going to fill up maximum vacant government posts and raise social welfare pension.’’

But wouldn’t all this land Andhra in trouble? None spoke. Finally, one there had the courage to mumble: ‘‘Yes, the state exchequer will be hit but YSR is not like Chandrababu. He has planned everything. He will cut expenses elsewhere and deliver to the people.

He isn’t like that man whose overconfidence felled him.’’ Again, everyone agreed.

Outside, a guard had his own story to narrate: ‘‘YSR once came here and was denied a room. He went back, saying he will return as CM. He has kept his word.’’ The regime change had been effected even before the formal results were out.