YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday said the results of the recent assembly elections in the state were shocking and surprising. However, he believes his party has all the strength and capacity to bounce back in the next state assembly elections in 2029.
“The debacle is part of the game. It is like the wily Shakuni winning while gambling on behalf of the Kauravas against the Pandavas in Mahabharata. Just like the dice thrown by Shakuni were in favour of Kauravas, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had helped the Telugu Desam Party-led alliance to win the elections,” Jagan said, while addressing a meeting of the YSRCP contestants at the party headquarters at Tadepalli to review their debacle in the recent elections.
He reminded that Pandavas had lost the game with Shakuni even though they had the support of Lord Krishna. “But in the final battle fought at Kurukshetra, Pandavas emerged victorious. So, the recent elections are just an interval for us. We shall triumph in the next general election,” the YSRCP president said.
Jagan added that the party had only won 11 out of 175 assembly seats, despite putting up a tough fight in the elections. “All the YSRCP leaders had put in their best efforts. Yet, the result was shocking. We are still not able to digest how the party could get such a result even though our government implemented 99% of its election promises and disbursed ₹2.7 lakh crore among the poor under direct benefit transfer schemes. I am surprised where was all the affection showered by the beneficiaries of our schemes,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Jagan added that the party had only won 11 out of 175 assembly seats, despite putting up a tough fight in the elections. “All the YSRCP leaders had put in their best efforts. Yet, the result was shocking. We are still not able to digest how the party could get such a result even though our government implemented 99% of its election promises and disbursed ₹2.7 lakh crore among the poor under direct benefit transfer schemes. I am surprised where was all the affection showered by the beneficiaries of our schemes,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Stating that something had gone wrong somewhere in the elections, Jagan said there was no point in raising doubts over the outcome without any evidence. “Yet, it is a matter of pride that our party still got around 40% vote share in the elections, compared to 50% it secured in 2019. If we strive hard, we can get back this 10% vote again in 2029,” he said.
The YSRCP chief said that he would soon start visiting the party workers who were subjected to harassment and attacks by the TDP cadres across the state. He would console every family and every activist, he added.
Jagan called upon the party leaders to be available for the workers in this hour of crisis and asked them to support the party social media workers as well.
Stating that TDP president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had a great opportunity to play a big role in national politics, the YSRCP chief wondered why Naidu was not using his influence to get special category status to the state and secure benefits under the AP state reorganisation act.
Jagan said the honeymoon between the TDP and its allies would not last long and soon, Naidu would get exposed. “The people are waiting for disbursement of money under Amma Vodi scheme, and Rythu Bharosa and crop insurance for farmers. The chief minister would have to meet all these demands, but he is bound to fail. So, let us be vigilant and expose the failures of Naidu,” he added.