Chandrababu Naidu adopts strategy of portraying Jagan Mohan Reddy as a bigger villain than YSR
TDP chief admits that at least YSR did some favours for poor even while making money
Hyderabad: Telugu Desam appears to be on course to changing their poll strategy wherein the party will now portray YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy as a bigger villain than his father and former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.
While party president N. Chandrababu Naidu will continue to attack the corrupt regime of YSR and Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy for making money out of projects, the second rung leadership will also focus on what they describe as the YSRC chief’s greed, dictatorial attitude and turning away his father’s staunch loyalists.
Significantly, Mr Naidu, in his attempt to portray that Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy has not done anything for the poor, admitted that at least YSR did some favours for the poor even while making money.
At a public meeting in Kadapa on Monday, Mr Naidu narrated a story of a father and his son, who struck a deal with God. The father, he said, proposed to throw the hundi collection in the air and offered to give God whatever amount fell within a small circle he drew. The father took the rest, got prasadam prepared with the money that fell in the circle and distributed it to the poor.
But the son was not like his father, Mr Naidu said, adding that the son, after his father’s death, also proposed to throw the collections in the air but offered to give God only whatever remained in air. “People soon understood the son’s greed and chased him away,” Mr Naidu said, stating that the YSR Congress would meet the same fate.
A recent attempt was also made by former minister J.C. Diwakar Reddy, who switched to the TD, to portray Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy as a spoilt brat. “YSR had suffered a lot of mental strain because of Jagan neglecting his studies and joining riffraff elements,” the former minister had pointed out.
The party will also highlight how the YSRC chief turned away several staunch loyalists of his father and built his own team. “The ill-treatment meted out to elders in the YSR Congress will also be publicised through social media to create a negative impression,” sources said.
Veteran TD leaders, however, express reservations over the campaign strategy. “There is a risk in the TD endorsing YSR and his policies after waging a long battle against him,” said a senior leader.