VIJAYAWADA : Responding to ace political strategist Prashant Kishor’s ‘gut feeling’ that the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRC would ‘lose in a big way’ in the upcoming elections, IT and Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath said, “The gut feelings of the people of the state is that the TDP-JSP combine will lose big time.”
Addressing the media in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, he wondered, “Should we trust the gut feelings of the people or the gut feeling of a ‘Mayala Fakir’ (magician) who has lost his sheen?”
He challenged Kishor’s assertion that providing Rs 2.5 lakh crore to people through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) would lead to the party’s defeat. “If that is true, why did TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu announce his ‘Super Six’ schemes,” he questioned.
Amarnath suggested that Kishor’s comments were influenced by his recent meetings with Naidu and dismissed his opinions as inconsequential. He labelled Kishor a ‘Chellani Nanem’ (counterfeit coin) in Bihar and questioned his relevance in Andhra Pradesh, emphasising that the people of Andhra do not trust him.
Mocking Naidu’s reliance on political strategists, the minister said the TDP supremo, feeling insecure with one PK (JSP chief Pawan Kalyan), had now brought in another PK (Prashant Kishor). “Will people believe the person who lost on his home turf? Just like the situation of Kishor in Bihar, the situation of Naidu is in Andhra,” he remarked.
‘Those lacking support resort to propaganda’
Amarnath stated that those lacking public support often resort to such propaganda. “In the past, Lagadapati Rajagopal said TDP would secure 130 seats. What happened? People desired the leadership of Jagan,” he said while clarifying that I-PAC is not associated anymore with Prashant Kishor, who is now a politician.
Another minister, Ambati Rambabu, took to social media to say, “Yesterday, Lagadapati retired and now Prashant Kishor is ready.”
He intended to convey that, similar to Lagadapati, who was renowned for his political predictions and surveys but eventually faded from the public sphere, Kishor too will fade out over time.
