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‘Riddled with corruption’: BJP targets YSRCP amid buzz of links with TDP
Reacting to Shah’s comments, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said that he doesn’t not bank on the support of any other political party
Amid speculation that its alliance with former ally Telegu Desam Party (TDP) could be renewed, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sharpened its attack against the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) in Andhra Pradesh, indicating that the party will intensify its campaign against the state government ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly elections scheduled for 2024.
Also read: Do not want support from any political party: Jagan hits back at BJP
On Sunday, Union home minister Amit Shah set the tone for the party’s election campaign in the state by referring to the Jagan Mohan Reddy led-YSCRCP government as “riddled with corruption.” Addressing a rally, Shah said the peaceful city of Visakhapatnam has been converted into a “haven for antisocial elements” by those indulging in “land scams and patronising free trade of drugs.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by BJP president JP Nadda, who labelled the state government as “corrupt” while addressing a rally a day earlier. He questioned the state government’s performance in the wake of alleged scams in various sectors from mining, liquor and land to swindles in the education sector.
Reacting to Shah’s comments, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, during a public meeting held at Krosuru in the Palnadu district, said that he doesn’t not bank on the support of any other political party. “The people of the state alone are my strength and confidence. Unlike the TDP, I don’t enjoy the support of other political parties.” “You are my courage and confidence. Unlike the TDP which enjoys the support of the gang of thieves and other political parties, I don’t enjoy the support of the BJP or any political party. But I don’t fear as I have your support and the blessing of God,” Jagan said.
The intensified attacks against the YSRCP that is counted as a friendly party to the BJP, having supported key legislation in Parliament, has set off speculation that the change in equation could be precipitated by the BJP’s growing close to the TDP.
TDP leader and former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s meeting with Shah earlier this month in the capital was read as an indication of the two former allies burying the hatchet to regroup ahead of the 2024 general elections as well as the upcoming assembly polls in Telangana at the end of the year.
There has been no formal statement from both sides on the outcome of the discussions. The TDP walked out of the NDA in 2018 over the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh hanging fire. The BJP also counts Pavan Kalyan’s Jana Sena as an ally in the state.
A state leader, however, said Shah and Nadda’s statements should not been seen as the BJP revisiting its strategy in the state. “While the BJP has thanked the YSRCP for supporting the union government on a slew of national issues in Parliament, we have consistently been exposing the failures of the state government in Andhra Pradesh,” he said, declining to be named. “To think that there a change in our approach because of a third party is incorrect.”
In the past four years since the YSRCP came to power in 2019, the BJP cadre has raised concerns about religious conversions through “coercion and inducements” and the “attacks on temples”, the leader said. “In addition to these issues, through public rallies and meetings with the electors, we have been consistently raising the issue of corruption in the state,” he added.
The BJP, which managed to win only 1% of the votes in the previous state election and did not win any Lok Sabha seats, claims it is now in a better position to both increase its vote share as well as convert the support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi into seats.
Also read: TDP manifesto a copy of Cong, BJP promises in Karnataka: Jagan
“No government at the Centre has done as much for Andhra Pradesh and its people as much as the BJP-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) has. In the past nine years, the Union government has sanctioned ₹5 lakh crore for the state. Based on the work done by the government, we are confident of meeting the target set by Shah of winning 20 Lok Sabha seats,” said Sunil Deodhar, national secretary and co-incharge of Andhra Pradesh in the BJP.
