Hyderabad: Political temperatures in Telugu-speaking states hit a peak on Wednesday, with Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy concluding his 22-day bus yatra and former chief minister of Telangana K. Chandrasekhar Rao setting off on his own 17-day bus yatra from the Bharat Rashta Samiti (BRS) office in Hyderabad.
What has lent a common thread to these yatras in different states is the confidence expressed by Rao in a marathon TV interview the previous evening – saying that he expected Jagan’s YSR Congress Party to win the elections in AP.
“It is an attempt to re-establish friendship between the two parties to win the votes of the Andhra population settled in Hyderabad for a common good,” according to political analyst Telakapalli Ravi.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
These voters in Hyderabad were seen to be voting overwhelmingly in favour of the BRS in the assembly elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits four months ago. The Congress was a washout in the city; it failed to win a single seat.
Jagan started his bus yatra from Idupulapaya in Kadapa district after paying tribute at his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s memorial on March 27. The yatra, named “Memantha Siddham (We are all ready)” was preceded by public meetings at various locations in AP.
During his tour, which took him over 2,100 km, covering 24 districts of the state, Jagan only targeted Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu and waxed eloquent about the welfare schemes of his government. He highlighted how Naidu had deceived people during his rule, comparing it to the comedy-horror role of Chandramukhi starring Rajnikanth.
Jagan called himself a loner against forces led by Naidu in the battle of “Kurukshetra”. As though that was not enough, he added, his own sister Y. S. Sharmila and cousin Suneetha Narreddy had joined the enemy camp with the aim to split the traditional vote bank of his late father Rajasekhara Reddy and permanently erase his name.
Jagan claims himself to be the true heir to YSR because Sharmila, according to him, has become a part of a larger conspiracy by political rivals against whom their father waged relentless struggles. She joined the Congress, which he claimed was responsible for their father’s name figuring in the chargesheets of the Central Bureau of Investigation in cases filed after his death.
KCR during his bus yatra. Photo: X/@BRSparty
Jagan also spoke about the killing of Suneetha’s father Vivekananda Reddy for the first time just before filing his nomination from the Pulivendula assembly constituency on the morning of April 25, after concluding the yatra.
Flanked by Y.S. Avinash Reddy, YSR Congress candidate for the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat and accused in the murder of Vivekananda, Jagan said he had given a ticket to Avinash because he did no wrong. The real murderer was openly confessing his crime but went untouched, he said.
Jagan’s allegations against Sharmila were many – including some that appeared to read a lot between the lines. He brought up how Sharmila visited Naidu’s house to extend an invitation for her son’s wedding wearing a yellow saree – the party colour of TDP.
During a meeting with trade union leaders of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant at Visakhapatnam, Jagan said he could not mount pressure on the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre to agree to the demands of the state government as the NDA had a huge majority in parliament and did not require his support for survival. But matters will be different this time, as the alliance cannot ignore his support because of the BJP’s weakening position, he claimed.
Jagan’s relationship with NDA appeared open ended, as he did not close ranks with the alliance while fighting its constituents comprising TDP, BJP and Jana Sena, according to Telakapalli Ravi.
He has committed to making Visakhapatnam the executive capital and Amaravati the legislative capital of the state. His road shows and public meetings were a big draw for the public.
KCR’s tour, meanwhile, began with a public meeting at Miryalguda town of the erstwhile Nalgonda district, where the former chief minister accused the Congress of wresting power in Telangana by making false promises. He said the four-month rule of the Congress was marked by drought, power cuts and jibes at him by chief minister A. Revanth Reddy.
Rao blamed the government for draining down 70 thousand million cubic feet of water from Godavari into the sea in the name of damage to barrages of the Kaleswsram lift irrigation project.
He took strong exception to Congress leaders saying they will ensure that his traces were wiped out and that they will put him in jail. “Is this the way to deal with a leader who got statehood for Telangana after 15 years of intense struggle?” he remarked.
This was the first time Rao undertook an election campaign by road. He always used a helicopter in previous elections.
