Assembly elections are two years away, but parties are preparing for battle in Andhra Pradesh
Assembly elections are two years away, but parties are preparing for battle in Andhra Pradesh
Elections in Andhra Pradesh (AP) are two years away, but the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and opposition parties are already fine-tuning their strategies and making necessary reforms to prepare for the elections.
The mood in the YSRCP has been a mix of excitement and gloom, especially after the appointment of regional coordinators and district presidents and a major cabinet reshuffle, which has caused outrage for some, who reversed the role from minister to MLA. . Attempts were made to pacify those disgruntled leaders, lest they switch loyalties at a time when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the BJP-Jana Sena Party (JSP) are working on a mission mode to oust the YSRCP. Were were
With 151 MLAs in the 175-member assembly and a strong performance in the local body polls, the YSRCP is in the driver’s seat but since nothing is permanent in politics, the party cannot take victory lightly.
YSRCP leaders are brimming with confidence, but if they sidestep the anti-incumbency wave, they will be making a costly mistake. YSRCP president and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is wary of the renewed vigor with which the TDP and BJP-JSP are attacking the government for taking certain policy decisions, many of which backfired, notably the ‘three capitals’ mess. , and to implement financially imprudent welfare schemes which have jeopardized the finances of the State.
The financial implications of putting the Amaravati (capital city) project in limbo, may soon take their toll, even as the capital is shifted to Visakhapatnam, subject to the move being cleared by the courts, with the government still at huge losses. will have to be compensated. Thousands of farmers who gave their lands under the pooling scheme.
Meanwhile, the YSRCP is hopeful that welfare schemes are being distributed largely through village and ward secretariats, which has brought it a lot of goodwill and will help in the general elections. The party’s electoral strategy cited the then-United States division and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as the party’s inability to achieve growth on the scale it had promised, and the YSRCP blaming its predecessor TDP government wants. failures
Mr Reddy is understood to have drawn up plans to start visiting districts soon to garner support for his party, which is under pressure to work. The TDP, on the other hand, is trying to take advantage of the failures of the YSRC government and focus on several issues which it believes will tilt in its favour. But, covering the lost ground is an uphill task for the opposition party as YSRCP is still a force to be reckoned with.
Though the TDP is in a position to regroup successfully after a few years of collapse, it is facing challenges as some of its MLAs have tacitly supported the YSCRP and it has voted as viable candidates. To find has made your task complicated. Taking its MLAs tally from 23 to a number that would put it in the saddle will be difficult to say the least, if not impossible for the TDP.
The BJP and its ally JSP, meanwhile, have sought to focus on the work done by the central government and target the “corrupt governance” of the YSCRP regime. Moreover, the BJP and its state president Somu Veeraraju have been raising sensitive issues related to the alleged attacks on Hindu temples and religious institutions, which have been suggested as a ploy supported by the party’s central high command. No one has any idea whether it will work in a state free from communal politics, but BJP is making every effort to raise such issues.
It remains to be seen whether the flaws in the YSCRP armor are weak enough to be exploited by a resurgent opposition in the next two years. Meanwhile, the citizens of the state are still hoping for the fulfillment of the promises made to them during Partition.
(raghavendra.v@thehindu.co.in)