VIJAYAWADA: Ninnu Nammam Babu!, Jai Ho YSR! Raavali Jagan, Kaavali Jagan! — these full-throated slogans rent the air as YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy ascended his vehicle to address the eagerly waiting crowd at Avanigadda in Krishna district, his second public meeting of the day on Tuesday. The setting was familiar, a narrow long-winding stretch, packed with people struggling to find their feet as far as the eyes could see and, the peppy numbers playing on the loud speakers pumping adrenaline among the whistling, jostling sea of supporters. Jagan, though, was focused, and unruffled under the hot sun, instantly establishing a connect, thanking them for coming to hear him in the searing heat.
But he wasted no time in pleasantries. Going straight for TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s jugular, he recalled promises made by the CM on the floor of the Assembly and how they have remained unfulfilled till date.
“He vowed to develop the Machilipatnam port, establish a refinery, bring metro rail, make this region an automobile logistics hub, and transform Vijayawada into a mega city, Smart City, and set up an aqua culture processing unit... all promises made by no less a person than the CM in the Assembly for Krishna district,” Jagan said and mocked how could a CM, who could not complete a flyover in Vijayawada, develop a greenfield capital city Amaravati.
The YSRC chief’s approach is strategic. To recall unkept promises of the TDP supremo to undermine the latter’s credibility and public perception of being an able administrator and then, contrast him with his own image of being a man of his word.
“We will not rule like Chandrababu Naidu. We will deliver welfare schemes without considerations of caste, creed, region or religion. Give us one chance to bring back Rajanna Rajyam,” he implored and went on to urge his supporters to convey the YSRC message to the people at large.
“Babu will try to lure voters with Rs 3,000 each. Tell every sister, mother, granny, grandpa and brother to introspect and be patient for 20 days. Thereafter when Anna (meaning himself) becomes the CM, we will give Rs 15,000 if you send your children to school. If Anna becomes CM, education of the children be it engineering, medicine or any other course will be free. If Anna becomes CM, the accumulated debt of Rs 25,500 crore of self-help groups would be waived in four phases and similarly, loans would be disbursed at zero interest rate,” he promised.
The YSRC chief further reeled out the party’s schemes for farmers including Rs 12,500 income support for them and hiked pension of Rs 3,000 to the aged among others.
He addressed two more meetings, one earlier in the day at Koyyalagudem in Polavaram Assembly constituency, West Godavari district and one later in the evening at Vemuru in Guntur district. In Koyyalagudem, he promised to give Rs 5 lakh per acres under the 2013 Land Acquisition Act to farmers who surrendered their lands for the Polavaram project and Rs 10 lakh under the relief and rehabilitation package instead of Rs 6.5 lakh being offered now.
At Vemuru, he highlighted the plight of AgriGold victims and questioned if Chandrababu Naidu is eligible to be the CM. “I empathise with you. I assure you I stand by you,” he told the victims. Interestingly, it was only at Vemuru that he raked up the issue of special category status to the State and reiterated that Naidu took a U-turn and accepted special package in lieu of the special category status.
“Naidu and BJP live like ideal partners for four years despite being denied special status. Now faced with the elections, Naidu plays a new drama, and divorces the BJP. He is the man who backstabs the State and then, dresses in black to stage Dharma Porata Deeksha,” he ridiculed.