TN, Andhra to provide 65 seats to UPA

Tamil Nadu and Andhra once again lived up to their reputation of playing a decisive role in the formation of government at the Centre with both the states contributing more than 65 seats to kitty of Congress-led UPA which will retain power.

While ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh won 32 out of the total 42 seats in the state, DMK-Congress combine emerged victorious in 28 out of the 39 seats in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Congress also wrested the lone seat in Puducherry from PMK with Union Minister V Narayanaswamy winning from there by a comfortable margin.

It was UPA's tally of 75 from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry that had helped the Congress form the government at the Centre after the 2004 elections.

Since 1996 Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have played a major role in the government formation at the Centre.

It was DMK, TMC and TDP which had mooted the United Front that ruled the country for just one-and-a-half years. Then in 1998 elections, TDP, AIADMK, PMK and MDMK had played the role of a kingmaker when BJP formed a government with its allies.

When an election was forced on the country after Jayalalithaa withdrew support to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government in 2009, BJP joined hands with TDP in Andhra Pradesh and DMK in Tamil Nadu and bagged maximum number of seats which helped BJP come back to power again.

DMK, PMK and MDMK cobbled an alliance with Congress and trounced the AIADMK-BJP combine by scoring 40 out of 40 in 2004.