YSRCP unlikely to go for early Assembly elections

Vijayawada The ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which is making a serious bid for continuing in power for another term of five years, may not opt for early Assembly elections for the State Legislative Assembly, according to indications.

The issue figured at an informal meeting of Ministers after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy at Amaravati on Wednesday. The Cabinet, which cleared the proposal to introduce Guaranteed Pension Scheme in the place of CPS for government employees and constitution of pay revision commission, discussed the prevailing political situation and the first phase of the manifesto released by the TDP at its Mahanadu held sometime ago at Rajamahendravaram.

The development assumes significance in the wake of reports of possible stitching of an alliance between the TDP and actor Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party. JSP, which is still an alliance partner of BJP, has hinted at making the saffron brigade part of the new alliance to prevent division of anti-YSRCP votes.

The way the Chief Minister and his party leaders including general secretary Sajjal Ramakrishna Reddy has been continuing an orchestrated campaign against the TDP and the JSP very often describing Pawan Kalyan as ‘adopted son’ of TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu, had fueled speculation that Jagan Mohan Reddy may also prefer to advance polls to not allow the Opposition parties to come to a common platform. Elections for Assembly and Lok Sabha are scheduled just nine months away. There is also a talk that as a prelude to elections, the Chief Minister may induct a few new faces and drop certain ‘non-performing’ Ministers. A party leader said winnability alone will be a criterion for selection of candidates in the 2024 elections after giving a call for ‘why not Kuppam’ to defeat Naidu at his home turf.

Interestingly, both Naidu and Pawan Kalyan who met several times since October 15, when the actor-turned-politician was denied police permission to move out beachfront hotel in Visakhapatnam to hold a roadshow, has already told their party rank and file that they will unite the Opposition parties to dislodge YSRCP from power.

Naidu, who walked out of BJP-led alliance before 2019 elections on the plea of denial of Special Category Status (SCS) after welcoming the ‘special package’ announced by the Central Government, has been showing his soft corner to move closer with the BJP. He has also praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the recent past and called on him and Home Minister Amit Shah recently to discuss the prevailing political situation in Andhra Pradesh.

The YSRCP has mounted an attack on the TDP and at every official meeting, Chief Minister Reddy has been attacking the Opposition for trying to put spokes in the efforts of the government to develop the State. Reddy said they had already disbursed Rs 2.05 lakh crore under Direct Benefit Scheme (DBT). At a recent meeting at Pathiklonda, he said the next elections will be a Kurukshetra War between Dochuko, Panchuko and Tinuko (DPT) by TDP and DBT by YSRCP.

The ruling party has also launched an exercise to appoint seven lakh Gruha Saradhi volunteers for micromanagement of voters at the grassroots by publicising the various welfare schemes along with the volunteers and sachivalaya conveners. They will keep rapport with 1.60 crore families so as to function as agents between the government and the people, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, who is holding the post of Government Advisor (Public Affairs) said.

He said during ‘Jagananna Maa Bhavishyath’ and ‘Gadapu Gadapu Ki Mee Prabhutvam’ they had found that 92 per cent of people in rural areas and 84 per cent in the urban areas had expressed their complete satisfaction over the implementation of Navaratnalu programmes through DBT.