No remorse on part of Jagan, yet

YSRCP is still unable to digest its defeat and does not seem to be willing to accept the people’s verdict. They seem to be following in the footsteps of their mentor party BRS and are of the view that the alliance will develop cracks like those of Medigadda barrage and it would collapse soon and they can come back to power again. “Five years will be over by the time you wink, we will be back in power,” is what party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy claims. There does not appear to be a feeling of remorse or signs of post-mortem on what went wrong. He feels he is still young and can take up another padayatra which will again bring him to power. None in the party is talking of why the people rejected them outrightly.

Anti-incumbency, politics of destruction and vendetta by the YSRCP government on one hand, welfare promises, and sustained campaign strategies in addition to caste combinations, firm alliances and joint campaign, on the other, resulted in vote transfer for the TDP-BJP-JSP alliance resulting in the YSRCP getting badly mauled, if not decimated in the 2024 Assembly elections. The only solace they have is that they have 14 or 15 MPs in Parliament of which 11 are in Rajya Sabha.

While the winds of change were clearly visible almost three to four months back, no one was opening up which made most of the analysts get confused as a result. Just as the previous government, they lost connect with the ground reality. They were simply basing their calculations on caste composition votes polled last time, claims of pressing doles dispensing button several times and transfer money into the account of poor people and felt that Jagan may stage a comeback for second time.

But for those who could feel the pulse of the people which changed soon after TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested and kept in remand for 53 days, the writing on the wall was clear.

As part of the post poll analysis, many intellectuals are now saying that Jagan and his team lost because of several reasons, including foul-mouthed verbal attacks, arrogance and disconnect with people, and the then CM keeping all his MPs and MLAs and even ministers at bay, and his top advisors misleading him. But none of them ever dared make any comment on this till the poll results were out.

But one thing is certain that the people wanted course correction and, hence, when they saw a powerful alternative in the opposition alliance, they voted for them with heightened expectations and aspirations which the NDA government will have to live up to and deliver the promises fast. Though the alliance has come to power with a thumping majority, their journey is not a bed of roses. Just like Anna Canteen buildings across the state which used to feed nearly five lakh people with breakfast, lunch and dinner for just Rs 15 per day, the state’s economy, too, is in a very bad shape. The alliance has made several promises in the form of Super Six guarantees. State finances are in bad shape and streamlining of administrative machinery are some of the major tasks before the new government.

One good sign is that the new government has started on a positive note and formed the cabinet with consultations and consensus. Even distribution of portfolios has been done after due discussion with alliance partners. A change in the style of functioning by the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is visible from the day one.

The allocation of portfolios indicates that Naidu has not only maintained continuity in certain issues like development of Amaravati as state capital. P Narayana who was the MAUD minister in the previous TDP government and was responsible for making land pooling a success and supervised speedy construction of several buildings has once again been given the same portfolio. This instils a new confidence among the people of the capital region.

What is unfortunate is that the YSRCP is still unable to digest its defeat and does not seem to be willing to accept the people’s verdict. They seem to be following in the footsteps of their mentor party BRS and are of the view that the alliance will develop cracks like those of Medigadda barrage and it would collapse soon and they can come back to power again. “Five years will be over by the time you wink, we will be back in power,” is what party chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy claims. There does not appear to be a feeling of remorse or signs of post-mortem on what went wrong. He feels he is still young and can take up another padayatra which will again bring him to power. None in the party is talking of the stand of people. His calculation is that the party has got about 41% vote share and TDP will fail and they if the get another 4 or 5% votes they can come back to power.

In all probability, they may not even attend the Assembly regularly. What actually should worry the YSRCP more is what would happen to the ongoing 26 cases which are pending against Jagan Mohan Reddy in the CBI court for over a decade.

Although Jagan claimed to have fulfilled 98 per cent of the poll guarantees, except for the DBT transfers, several of them remain unfulfilled even after five years. The DBT spending consumed a large chunk of the budget around Rs 2,70,000 crore leading to a fund crunch for targeted subsidies, corporations Backward Classes, minority, infrastructure, and so on.

YSRCP complained of post result violence by TDP activists. Violence by anyone should be condemned. It should not take place. But what one cannot digest is what happened to this concern when all forms of demonstrations were stifled, leaders were put under house arrest, police jumped over the walls and arrested some leaders and subjected them to third degree while in custody.

Another major lesson this election has taught is that politics and administration cannot be run by strategists and organisations like i-pac (Indian Political Action Committee), volunteers and huge number of advisors to the government. It puts great financial burden on the government and disconnects the ruling party from the people.

Naidu this time promised changed outlook to governance. From excessive reliance on bureaucrats, he affirmed that it would be people and party centric and he and all the ministers would remain connected with people.

He also appears to be firm in keeping the tainted officials away and prove that he means business. His displeasure over some of the bureaucrats who were allegedly close to the YSRCP during the first brief meeting he had with the HoDs at Secretariat and the way he refused to accept the bouquets from such officials indicates his changed style of functioning.

If Naidu continues to maintain the same speed and spirit and moves forward with consultation and consensus and ensures that his party leaders do not become arrogant and remain well grounded and humble, certainly the state can hope to be back on track in the shortest possible time.

Naidu has promised a changed outlook to governance. A shortcoming of his governance model was his excessive reliance on bureaucrats, which earned him the moniker “CEO”. When he came to power in 2014 in the then recently bifurcated Andhra Pradesh, Naidu promised to usher in political governance and bring about the accountability that leaders owe to the people. It did not take off. In 2024, speaking to his party leaders after the results, Naidu once again expressed his commitment to the political governance model.

Anti-incumbency, politics of destruction and vendetta by the YSRCP government on one hand, welfare promises, and sustained campaign strategies in addition to caste combinations, firm alliances and joint campaign, on the other, resulted in vote transfer for the TDP-BJP-JSP alliance resulting in the YSRCP getting badly mauled, if not decimated in the 2024 Assembly elections. The only solace they have is that they have 14 or 15 MPs in Parliament of which 11 are in Rajya Sabha.

While the winds of change were clearly visible almost three to four months back, no one was opening up which made most of the analysts get confused as a result. Just as the previous government, they lost connect with the ground reality. They were simply basing their calculations on caste composition votes polled last time, claims of pressing doles dispensing button several times and transfer money into the account of poor people and felt that Jagan may stage a comeback for second time.

But for those who could feel the pulse of the people which changed soon after TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested and kept in remand for 53 days, the writing on the wall was clear.

As part of the post poll analysis, many intellectuals are now saying that Jagan and his team lost because of several reasons, including foul-mouthed verbal attacks, arrogance and disconnect with people, and the then CM keeping all his MPs and MLAs and even ministers at bay, and his top advisors misleading him. But none of them ever dared make any comment on this till the poll results were out.

But one thing is certain that the people wanted course correction and, hence, when they saw a powerful alternative in the opposition alliance, they voted for them with heightened expectations and aspirations which the NDA government will have to live up to and deliver the promises fast. Though the alliance has come to power with a thumping majority, their journey is not a bed of roses. Just like Anna Canteen buildings across the state which used to feed nearly five lakh people with breakfast, lunch and dinner for just Rs 15 per day, the state’s economy, too, is in a very bad shape. The alliance has made several promises in the form of Super Six guarantees. State finances are in bad shape and streamlining of administrative machinery are some of the major tasks before the new government.

One good sign is that the new government has started on a positive note and formed the cabinet with consultations and consensus. Even distribution of portfolios has been done after due discussion with alliance partners. A change in the style of functioning by the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is visible from the day one.

The allocation of portfolios indicates that Naidu has not only maintained continuity in certain issues like development of Amaravati as state capital. P Narayana who was the MAUD minister in the previous TDP government and was responsible for making land pooling a success and supervised speedy construction of several buildings has once again been given the same portfolio. This instils a new confidence among the people of the capital region.

What is unfortunate is that the YSRCP is still unable to digest its defeat and does not seem to be willing to accept the people’s verdict. They seem to be following in the footsteps of their mentor party BRS and are of the view that the alliance will develop cracks like those of Medigadda barrage and it would collapse soon and they can come back to power again. “Five years will be over by the time you wink, we will be back in power,” is what party chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy claims. There does not appear to be a feeling of remorse or signs of post-mortem on what went wrong. He feels he is still young and can take up another padayatra which will again bring him to power. None in the party is talking of the stand of people. His calculation is that the party has got about 41% vote share and TDP will fail and they if the get another 4 or 5% votes they can come back to power.

In all probability, they may not even attend the Assembly regularly. What actually should worry the YSRCP more is what would happen to the ongoing 26 cases which are pending against Jagan Mohan Reddy in the CBI court for over a decade.

Although Jagan claimed to have fulfilled 98 per cent of the poll guarantees, except for the DBT transfers, several of them remain unfulfilled even after five years. The DBT spending consumed a large chunk of the budget around Rs 2,70,000 crore leading to a fund crunch for targeted subsidies, corporations Backward Classes, minority, infrastructure, and so on.

YSRCP complained of post result violence by TDP activists. Violence by anyone should be condemned. It should not take place. But what one cannot digest is what happened to this concern when all forms of demonstrations were stifled, leaders were put under house arrest, police jumped over the walls and arrested some leaders and subjected them to third degree while in custody.

Another major lesson this election has taught is that politics and administration cannot be run by strategists and organisations like i-pac (Indian Political Action Committee), volunteers and huge number of advisors to the government. It puts great financial burden on the government and disconnects the ruling party from the people.

Naidu this time promised changed outlook to governance. From excessive reliance on bureaucrats, he affirmed that it would be people and party centric and he and all the ministers would remain connected with people.

He also appears to be firm in keeping the tainted officials away and prove that he means business. His displeasure over some of the bureaucrats who were allegedly close to the YSRCP during the first brief meeting he had with the HoDs at Secretariat and the way he refused to accept the bouquets from such officials indicates his changed style of functioning.

If Naidu continues to maintain the same speed and spirit and moves forward with consultation and consensus and ensures that his party leaders do not become arrogant and remain well grounded and humble, certainly the state can hope to be back on track in the shortest possible time.

Naidu has promised a changed outlook to governance. A shortcoming of his governance model was his excessive reliance on bureaucrats, which earned him the moniker “CEO”. When he came to power in 2014 in the then recently bifurcated Andhra Pradesh, Naidu promised to usher in political governance and bring about the accountability that leaders owe to the people. It did not take off. In 2024, speaking to his party leaders after the results, Naidu once again expressed his commitment to the political governance model.