Jagan's 175-seat aim faces many challenges

Vijayawada: The recently-concluded two-day plenary of the YSRCP saw its chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy proclaim a target of 175 seats for the party, a full sweep, in the 2024 elections.

This is not the first time that he asserted that his party will be winning 175 seats. Is Jagan Mohan really serious in aiming at the 'opposition-mukt' rule in the state having now appointed himself as the life president of the party?

It is not uncommon for presidents of regional parties becoming life presidents as it is their party and their show. No one will have the courage to oppose the chief. In addition, Jagan has also declared that the party was all set to win the next Assembly elections booting out the opposition completely if only his leaders spend the coming months interacting with the people.

But, is the ruling party really 'breach-resistant'? Could there also be 'Eknath Shindes' here too. The BJP's requirement is minimal politically when it comes to YSRCP. That is one reason it is not fully focusing its energies on the AP situation now, it is being said. Six months down the line, the situation might change. A soon-to-retire top notch leader of the party could change the party strategy to the detriment of the YSRCP, it is being said.

It is known to all that Jagan Mohan Reddy had hired the service of Prashant Kishore's I-Pac in 2019 and gave it the credit for his win in the elections. In fact, he has been acknowledging the value of I-Pac in his personal interactions with his 'near and dear' politicians on and off.

Recently, at a meeting with his leaders, he said his own survey had given them all the inputs required to assess the performance of the MLAs. This could obviously lead to some disagreement as it is not known whether Jagan will be issuing the 'B' forms to candidates in the next elections based on his own assessment or on that of the I-Pac whose services he is said to be hiring once again.

There is a difference between the two surveys. The I-Pac survey is mostly based on the conditions prevailing in the constituencies. It assesses various parameters and then zeroes on in the candidature. Whereas, Jagan's surveys are candidate-oriented and when he talks of performance, he is looking at the acceptability of the candidate to the public based on his or her performance.

It is also said that the Chief Minister would take feedback from the in-charge ministers, party coordinators at various levels including regional and district, before ticking the candidates off. "Jagan Mohan Reddy will compare his own findings with that of the hired agency. Of course, the inputs of the intelligence wing will also help him," a senior party functionary says.

If it is true, how were persons of questionable antecedents, like now jailed and suspended MLC, Anantha Babu, picked?

A couple of senior leaders from north-east Andhra and south Andhra, including ministers are sure to toe an independent line and place their preferences before their leader when it comes to the brass tacks. It can not be called dissidence now, but the preferences would become obvious just ahead of the elections. Most of the ministers have their own 'fan clubs' among the MLAs and the differences among the MLAs are significant.