BJP’s big win in UP wakes up Jagan Reddy early for 2024 AP polls

The office-bearers of YSR Congress (YSRCP) met this week in Amravati just for the second time after YS Jaganmohan Reddy was elected the party leader to head the government in 2019.

This time the agenda was clear: to formally begin election preparations for the state assembly and Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to be held in two years’ time.

BJP’s historic win in Uttar Pradesh besides Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, has set the alarm bells ringing in all southern states, including Andhra Pradesh. The BJP though has the weakest presence here among all six south Indian states. Even in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, where anti-BJP sentiments rule because of its pre-dominantly north-Indian Hindi party image, the party managed to win four seats in last year’s assembly elections and grabbed 230 wards in local body polls last month. In Andhra Pradesh, the party is yet to make its presence felt.

In what is essentially a two-horse race between ruling YSRCP and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), even the Congress finds no political space in the truncated Telugu-speaking state. It only proves that the stranglehold of regional parties over the state of Andhra Pradesh is too strong to break for now.

The Uttar Pradesh results, however, seem to have made the YSRCP a tad more cautious, if not nervous, over the growing ambitions of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh.

The local BJP leadership has mounted a spirited campaign against Chief Minister Jagan Reddy, his way of functioning and his tacit support for Christian groups in a clear bid to give air to emotional issues, but the party is struggling to find enough support among voters.

“In AP, the BJP cannot do much. Anyway the party is not too bothered about the present given Jagan’s approach of State for me and Centre for you,” said Prof Harathi Vageesan of NALSAR.

The saffron party is instead eyeing the space provided by a weakening TDP. Though Prof Vageesan says one cannot write off the TDP completely yet.

The BJP’s big wins recently have clearly made the regional chieftains like Jagan, KC Chandrasekhara Rao (Telangana CM and TRS President) and Stalin to study the UP Model of election management and it is reasonable to assume that they too will draw inspirations from the northern state.

Already, Jaganmohan Reddy has given ample indications of his strategy for re-election, for the third successive term and launched party preparations for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and state elections.

Also read: Jaganmohan Reddy is eyeing early election, but it’s no easy task

The YSRCP legislative party met in the state capital of Amaravati on March 15 wherein Jaganmohan Reddy prepared his ministers and senior leaders for the upcoming responsibilities.

The preparation would formally begin with a cabinet rejig, being anticipated after Ugaadi, the Telugu New Year on April 2, party leaders in the know say.

Jagan Reddy is believed to have told his senior party functionaries to hit the road and conduct door-to-door visits so as to cover the entire state before the polls are even announced.

Contacting as many voters as possible in the run up to the elections, two years away, was absolutely essential, Jagamohan Reddy is said to have told his MLAs saying the “party had to fight a new enemy – the media – as well.”

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister directed all his MLAs and MPs to fan out across the state and counter the “false information” spread by TDP and media houses about Jagan Reddy and his party.

“This fight against propaganda must begin from ward level,” Reddy said even as he stressed on the need for spreading awareness about the development work and welfare schemes of the government – a move inspired by the BJP campaign on labharthis (beneficiaries of social welfare programmes) during recent polls in UP and other states.

Also read: Welfare? Development? Andhra faces a perilous economic future

Another tactic the CM is said to be mulling to counter local anti-incumbency is to drop unpopular and non-performing MLAs. Already a list of some 50 out of the total 156 MLAs has reportedly been drawn up for closer scrutiny, with fair chances of their failing to get renominated as party candidates in the next polls.

Unlike, say in other south Indian states ruled by non-BJP regional chieftains, the BJP may concentrate less on Andhra Pradesh this time for the simple reason that Jaganmohan Reddy has been firmly in the NDA camp when it comes to parliamentary proceedings and his interests remain confined within the boundaries of the truncated state.

Still, on his part, Jaganmohan Reddy will do everything to prevent the strengthening of either the BJP or the Congress.

Political analysts are sure that, as of now, the presence of the BJP will only help chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy electorally, unless of course the saffron party ties up with the TDP or, worse, takes it over.

Andhra Pradesh assembly has a strength of 175 MLAs and sends 25 MPs to the Lok Sabha. At present, the YSRCP has 156 MLAs and 22 MPs.