What hogged the headlines at the ruling YSR Congress plenary the other day was Y S Vijayamma, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s mother, resigning not only as the party’s honorary president but also from its primary membership. It made a good reading, given the speculation of sibling rivalry between Jagan and his sister Sharmila who has floated her party in neighbouring Telangana. Nonetheless, Vijayamma’s exit was a formality. After all, Jagan has always been the YSRC’s supreme leader, notwithstanding his sister’s political ambitions and the reported tussles in the state’s first family. The real takeaway from the conclave is the Jagan strategy.
Flexing his muscles, the newly-anointed president for life of the YSRC caught the TDP, Jana Sena and the BJP in a cleft stick with a pointed warning to the people that a vote for the opposition is tantamount to voting against the ongoing direct benefit transfer schemes. Elections are still a couple of years away, but this is going to be Jagan’s battle cry and to which the opposition has no clear answers as of now.
The TDP is still relying on its ageing war horse and former chief minister, N Chandrababu Naidu. Yes, he has embarked on a tour of the districts and is breaking a sweat. But, perhaps for the first time in his career, Naidu finds himself completely isolated. Despite his U-turn on the BJP following the drubbing in the 2019 elections, the latter is unwilling to break bread with him again. His overtures to the saffron party’s ally, Jana Sena, have not been received well either, at least thus far, though party president and actor Pawan Kalyan did make some noise about the need to keep the opposition vote intact.
Most importantly, Naidu is yet to set his own house in order. Public attention may have been on Jagan and his mother but there are signs of growing unease in the yellow party over the role of Naidu’s son Lokesh amid rumours of a rift between the two over a possible alliance with Jana Sena. This developing story will be far more significant than Vijayamma’s exit.
