Jagan’s Mission 175 leaves Chandrababu struggling to save Kuppam turf
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu’s Kuppam Assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh is in the midst of a political turmoil. While frequent clashes between TDP and YSR Congress Party cadres have vitiated the law and order situation in the constituency, resistance by YSRCP members to Naidu’s visit to his own turf in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district has stalled his programmes in the area. This despite Naidu being a seven-time MLA from the constituency.
On August 25, clashes erupted between TDP and YSRCP cadres a few hours before Naidu was scheduled to inaugurate an Anna Canteen in Kuppam town. YSRCP members pulled down the tent raised for the programme, following which stone pelting ensued between the two groups.
For the first time in three decades, Naidu is finding it difficult to even hold a public meeting without inviting resistance from his political rivals in the constituency.
Dwindling influence?
The resistance is concerning for the TDP considering that Naidu has been winning elections in the constituency since 1989. But the past few years have shown a shift in his voter base. While earlier, the TDP chief’s winning margin hovered above 60 per cent, in 2019 his vote share fell to 55 per cent when he faced a tough contest from YSRCP’s K Chandramouli, a former IAS officer.
Kuppam was the first VIP constituency in the state which served as a laboratory for many innovative schemes when Naidu landed his first stint as chief minister between 1997 and 2004. Funds flowed with unusual speed to the constituency which connects Andhra with Chennai and Bengaluru via rail. Later YS Rajasekhar Reddy and Kiran Kumar Reddy replicated the VIP constituency model in Pulivendula and Pileru constituencies respectively.
Naidu used to remote-manage the constituency through his acolytes when he was in and out of power. His visits were few and far between. He did not have a residence in the constituency and used to stay in a guest house during his visits. Little did he know that his non-resident status would become a political issue.
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But the emergence of YS Jaganmohan Reddy on the political horizon and his thumping win in the 2019 Assembly election came as a massive challenge for Naidu to retain influence over the constituency. Hit by a volley of criticisms, Naidu has now realised that he has to live among the cadres to save the party from crumbling and is now constructing a house near Kuppam on the Kuppam-Palamaner highway.
COVID disadvantage, Jagan’s ‘Mission 175’
At a time when Naidu is struggling to retain his hold over the constituency, Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s vow to drive him out of Kuppam in the 2024 Assembly elections has aggravated the situation for him. Announcing his party’s ‘Mission 175,’ a campaign to win all the assembly seats, at a recent event, Jagan had said that Kuppam would be his first target for the 2024 Assembly election.
Walls and flex boards sported the slogan ‘Why Not 175?’ and ‘First target Kuppam’ on the eve of Jagan’s maiden visit to Kuppam.
Political experts say ‘Mission 175’ is the culmination of a meticulously planned strategy to alienate Naidu from the TDP cadres that began with the formation of government by YSR Congress in 2019.
Unfortunately for Naidu, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the situation which in turn was exploited to the hilt by the YSRCP which presented itself as a saviour.
While Naidu became scarce during the lockdown, Peddireddy Ramanchandra Reddy, a minister in Jagan’s cabinet was put in charge of the constituency and stayed put in Kuppam to oversee distribution of COVID-19 aid and food to the people. The gesture helped YSRCP win the trust of people in the region, leading to dwindle in TDP supporters.
‘Jagan plans to demoralise cadres’
“We are now a cadre-less party with voters,” lamented a TDP sympathiser. “The TDP has never foreseen the need to have second rung leaders in the constituency. Now it has become incumbent for Naidu to make himself available in the constituency to enthuse our vote bank,” he said.
Many in the town opine that Jagan, who faced a setback in dismantling Naidu’s dream capital Amaravati as sole capital of Andhra Pradesh, has now diverted his hatred for the TDP chief towards Kuppam to demoralise TDP cadre.
“Veteran chief ministers such as Marri Chennareddy, Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy and even YS Rajasekhar Reddy never bayed for the blood of political opponents. That’s why during YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s regime, Kuppam had never been the scene of personal enmity,” said former TDP minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy.
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Reddy says that Jagan is trying to create an impression that Naidu is getting defeated in his own fortress to deliver the bigger message that the TDP will eventually crumble. “TDP cadres are capable of seeing through Jagan’s game plan,” he said.
“Jagan thinks that by repeatedly talking about Naidu’s imminent defeat in Kuppam and creating hype around the Kuppam election, the morale of TDP cadre would be shaken. In his view this demoralisation of cadre would make TDP cadre-less in 2024,” said Tirupati-based veteran political commentator V Sankaraiah.
Settling old debts
A local journalist views Jagan’s strategy as an extension of the Kamma vs Reddy caste war that rocked Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati where Naidu studied in late 1970s.
“In those days when Naidu led Kamma students, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, now forest minister in Jagan’s cabinet, was Reddy’s commander. Peddireddy could not defeat Naidu’s faction in university politics. Now, with the arrival of Jagan, Peddireddy found an opportunity to strike at his arch rival,” the journalist said.
The fierce campaign launched against Naidu in Kuppan was intensified by the setback the TDP suffered in the elections to panchayat and municipalities.
‘Pro-backward caste factor at work’
Political observers say that Jagan is under the impression that TDP could be defeated in Kuppam by manipulating the same Backward Caste (BC) factor which Naidu deployed to convert Kuppam constituency into his fortress. The image that TDP was a pro-BC party helped Naidu in garnering support from BC communities.
Before 2014, the Congress never attempted to break the nexus between TDP and BCs. It was Jagan who first thought of splitting the BC vote by fielding a former IAS officer from Varnikula Kshatriya caste which has about 80,000 votes. While the constituency has around 2.39 lakh voters, BCs constitute 75 per cent of the voters; Kammas and Reddys are negligible with fewer than 2 per cent representation. Though it lost the election in 2014 and 2019, the YSRCP did make a dent in Naidu’s popularity by reducing the margin to 30,000 votes in 2019 from 47,000 in 2014.
This is the reason behind the hectic activity in both the camps that has been recently witnessed.
Pitched battle in the making
Jagan gave a call to BCs of the constituency to wrest Kuppam from Chandrababu Naidu. Addressing a huge public meeting at Kuppam recently, he said, “Naidu doesn’t believe in social justice. So, he grabbed Kuppam which is rightfully your constituency. YSRCP has twice fielded a BC candidate against Naidu. This time KRJ Bharat, son of Chandramouli, is our candidate. If you elect Bharat, I will appoint him a cabinet minister and Kuppam will see an all-round development,” Jagan announced.
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Alarmed in time, Naidu has now become a regular visitor to the constituency. While his residence at Kuppam is under construction, he has made as many as six visits to the constituency since November 2021. For the time being, the TDP office has been modernised to make it suitable for Naidu’s stay with a mess to feed party workers. Naidu also has plans to visit every village in the constituency. Recently he toured three remote villages – Devarajpuram, Naniyala and Veernamal – much to the surprise of his own party leaders. The former chief minister is directly talking to the party cadre through video conferences.
While the developments amply indicate that the 2024 Assembly elections would witness a pitched battle between the TDP and YSRCP, only time will tell if Naidu can save his turf from Jagan’s aggressive onslaught.
