Hard working party workers didn’t get due credit: Amarnath

Visakhapatnam: YSRCP Gajuwaka candidate Gudivada Amarnath mentions that party workers who worked hard for close to a decade have not been given due recognition and this could possibly be one of the prime reasons for the party’s disastrous show in 2024 polls.

In an interview with The Hans India, Amarnath opines that even as the volunteer system is the most appreciated concept, it did widen the gap between the local leaders and people as volunteers turned out to be the first point of contact for the constituents to get their issues addressed. “In the process, the party workers felt neglected,” he reasons.

As the BJP-TDP-JSP contested together in 2024 polls, Amarnath says that 100 per cent vote transfer resulted in the thumping victory of the alliance.

The results clearly indicated that despite implementation of 99 percent of the manifesto promises, the YSRCP met the needs of the poor that went beyond its manifesto’s purview. But people still expected something from the government and were obviously dissatisfied, Amarnath shares.

Sharing other reasons, Amarnath says, “It’s apparent that the youth in the state are attracted to power star and JSP chief Pawan Kalyan as he promised to provide 20 lakh employment opportunities to them. It served as a big plus point for the alliance. Job creation is not an easy task. The YSRCP could provide 1 lakh jobs in mega and large units during its rule.”

Talking about capital development, Amarnath reiterated that the YSRCP was never against developing Amaravati. “But along with it, we advocated decentralised growth by making

Visakhapatnam and Kurnool executive and judicial capital cities. We still stand by it. The alliance needs to keep Visakhapatnam in view while developing the capital city as it has all the resources and strength,” he elaborates.

When asked about whether ‘abusive’ language used repeatedly by a section of ministers left an irrevocable damage to the party, the former IT Minister reasons, “When leaders of the Opposition used filthy language, we were left with no other option but to respond in a similar tone.”

Referring to the MLC election results, Amarnath felt that it should have been considered as an indication and corrective measures would have probably commenced back then.

“However, as we were under the impression that graduates do not fall under the purview of our vote bank, we did not pay much heed to it,” he conveys.

Reiterating that 40 percent of vote share for the YSRCP is still intact, Amarnath expressed confidence that the trend will not be the same in 2029.

“In the meantime, the party leaders would introspect over what went wrong before bouncing back in the next polls,” he adds.