Ruling TDP’s Influence Waning, YSRCP Surging Ahead In Andhra Pradesh

K. Jayadev

The ruling Telugu Desam Party from the time it came to power in 2014, is paying the price for a slew of mistakes it has been making. Its principal opposition party, YSR Congress Party has meanwhile been building a concrete road for 2019.

Andhra Pradesh’s political situation is crystal clear—the ruling TDP is on a crumbling wicket. On the other hand, the YSRCP is rising well above the expectations and making a dominant impact on the state political scenario. The other players: Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party remains for the most part, a twitter party; Congress and Left parties are still in a comatose state with no signs of a revival.

The year 2017 had very few surprises in store when it comes to AP politics. The ruling party started losing its sheen and TDP proved to be a curse for the people of the state since it failed to pressurize the central government in getting Special Status for AP, the ambitious Polavaram project hasn’t taken off, the dream of capital city is not just an outlandish fantasy at one level but has been plagued with controversies and has been dubbed as a massive real estate scam. The promise for investments remains a distant dream coupled with the failure to create jobs. The TDP’s anti-farmer policies have led to a state of widespread unrest among the rural poor which is there for all to see.

The TDP’s luring of 22 YSRCP MLAs into its fold has turned the democratic process in the state into a farce. But people have seen through the immoral tactics of TDP and its leader Chandrababu Naidu, so much so that they have unambiguously decried this poaching. Yet another major political mistake seems to be the induction of Chandrababu Naidu’s son Lokesh into the government. Chandrababu has been an ardent critic of dynasty rule of Congress, but the induction of his son into the cabinet has exposed his double-standards.

On the other hand, Naidu is also facing severe heat from the AP Leader of the Opposition and YSRCP Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Through the successful Praja Sankalpa Yatra he has been exposing the follies and failures of the government and TDP. His regular interaction with public and the overwhelming response he has been receiving in every constituency, his approach to issues and the ground level party building in the state is something that is giving Naidu and TDP sleepless nights. People are pouring out their woes to the YSRCP leader, complaining about the TDP government and the sense of betrayal felt by them about Chandrababu Naidu. YS Jagan points out that--“Naidu is presiding over a corrupt government, is vengeful against the Opposition and is encouraging defections.” Clearly, Chandrababu Naidu and TDP have no answers to this.

The other parties like Congress and BJP are mere sidekicks in the state of Andhra Pradesh because they are unable to make any dent in political space. Even the maverick actor turned politician Pawan Kalyan seems to be finding no ground and his approach makes us think he is uncertain about the way forward in politics.

As they say, cometh the hour, cometh the man--this is apt in the context of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and 2019, from the way political atmosphere in Andhra Pradesh is shaping.