At Garividi town in Vizianagaram district, a decent crowd of around 3,000 wait for the arrival of YS Vijayamma, widow of late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, for her road show. Songs eulogizing the late leader keep the crowd engaged, some of whom are perched on balconies to get a good view. When she finally makes an appearance, two hours late, you find them still hanging onto their vantage positions.
Though not a powerful speaker, she keeps the tone and tenor of her speech simple: what YSR did during the five years he was in power, how welfare took a backseat once he passed away and why people should not believe the promises being made by Chandrababu Naidu of Telugu Desam.
“He is making so many promises but you know his track-record — one who neglected the poor and farmers,” she says and then, seeking to strike an emotional chord, tells the gathering: “The void caused in my life by the death of YSR cannot be filled by anyone, not even by my son and daughter. But, the void caused in your lives by his untimely death will be filled by Jagan. Trust me on this.”
A couple of hours before reaching Garividi, I had asked a YSR Congress candidate to explain what was working in their favour. His reply: “75% YSR and 25% Jagan.” Close to five years after his death, the legacy of YSR continues to loom large and the man who is no longer around remains the key factor. It is difficult to predict how people would have viewed him had he continued in power for the second term.
In fact, the various “sins” committed by the Congress in the past five years are only making the people think that things would have been different had YSR been around. The propaganda that Jagan has the same DNA as the Congress is not rubbing off the way his rivals expect it to.
As you criss-cross the North Coastal region, people give you varied reasons for supporting YSR Congress.
At Mandadi in Amudalavalasa constituency, Srikrishna Babu, a Kapu farmer, says they were happy during the five-year rule of YSR and Jagan is promising the same — be it the health scheme or pensions to the aged, widows or the physically challenged. Adinarayana, a barber, interjects: “Give the boy one chance. If he doesn’t deliver, we will vote him out” — just as one heard several voices in Telangana that there was nothing wrong in giving the TRS “one chance.”
How the loyalty factor works is a study in itself. At Kella in Palakonda constituency, I stopped by a brick kiln and spoke to Tirupati Rao. He makes `200 profit on the sale of 1,000 bricks. But, why is he loyal to YSR? “Under his government, housing programme was taken up on a large scale and I made more than what I would normally.” Voting for YSR Congress is a way of showing his gratitude.
Under the shade of a tree in the scorching sun at Kamannavalasa village in Bobbili constituency, we engage a group of farmers in conversation. The difference of opinion among them comes out clearly. Kondaiah argues the Telugu Desam, which promised waiver of farm loans, would impose burden on the people in a different form. He would rather go with Jagan whose father did it in the past. His sister’s son, Venkataramana, sitting next to him, however, contends that if the Congress could do it earlier, why wouldn’t the TDP. “It is very much possible if the same government comes to power in the State and Centre.”
You don’t have to ask whom John, security guard at a hotel in Parvatipuram, or Raju, a fruit seller in Uttaravalli village of Cheepurupalli constituency, would vote for. Both are SCs and their choice is clear. Raju explains: “There are 250 SC families in the village. Of them, 200 were with the Congress and 50 with the Telugu Desam. All those who were loyal to the Congress earlier have now shifted to the YSRC.”
Uttaravalli is part of Cheepurupalli constituency — the only segment where you hear people say that the Congress is very much in the fight. Reason: the contestant is former APCC president Botcha Satyanarayana. Some describe him as a “dictator” while others credit him for development including laying of CC roads. Known for astute political management and one who could ill-afford to lose given the huge economic interests he has built up across the district, Botcha is said to be working behind the scenes with candidates of both YSRC and Telugu Desam to remain afloat.
Part of a team campaigning for the Congress, Anil, who completed teacher training course and is awaiting a job, makes no secret of his anti-Congressism. “If Botcha wins this election, when the odds are heavily stacked against the Congress, there is no way he could be defeated in future,” he points out. For all the mismanagement the Congress did, both at the Centre and in AP, its prospects would not have been any better even if the state was not divided — only the margin of defeat would have been honourable. And, for all the talk that he would still keep the State united, former chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and his Jai Samaikhyaandhra party are cutting no ice with the voters. “What is the sacrifice he has made? Resigning 10 days before elections were announced?” fumes Sriramulu Dora of Vikrampuri village.
(Tomorrow: What are the factors working for the Telugu Desam Party)