AP Heading for Fierce Political Battle, Parties in Campaign Mode

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh is heading for a fierce political battle with the ruling YSRC targeting a win of all the 175 Assembly seats while the opposition Telugu Desam, Jana Sena and BJP are getting themselves set to give the ruling party a tough fight at the hustings.

The opposition parties, as also the YSRC, are taking up a series of programmes to reach out to the people even as the elections are 10 months away.

As the YSRC is claiming credit for implementing a lot of welfare schemes and developmental works, the Telugu Desam, Jana Sena and the BJP have started targeting the incumbent government with a common agenda, by exposing its failures, and are reaching out to the people with a promise of good governance.

As TD chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu announced a series of freebies at the party’s annual Mahanadu recently, the party leaders are reaching out to the people by organising bus yatras and a series of meetings. Their aim is principally to lure the various communities that are the traditional vote banks of the YSRC.

Naidu’s son Lokesh is busy with his Yuva Galam programme to attract the youths and seek their support. He is blaming the YSRC government for its “failure” to provide them jobs.

Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan’s first leg of AP tour in erstwhile Godavari districts has proven to be a success. He attempted to identify the problems of the people, targeted the YSRC government  and sought support to JS from all social groups. He promised good governance.

The state BJP too has intensified its campaign against the YSRC government even by releasing a charge-sheet against it at Assembly segment levels. The party would go to the district and state levels to expose the failures of the government.

BJP’s top leaders Amit Shah and J.P. Nadda have visited the state and targeted the YSRC government to drive home the message that the people should support the BJP if they needed more development in the state.

The three opposition parties have not referred to their chances of a political alliance against the YSRC. They say they would go independently for now but would try and forge an alliance at the time of the elections to defeat the YSRC and avoid a split in the anti-incumbency votes.

BJP’s former MLC, P.V.N. Madhav, said, “We have already started our preparations for the polls by meeting the people and explaining to them about what the Modi government has been doing for AP in the last nine years. We have also started exposing the failures of the ruling dispensation by releasing charge-sheets. We welcome Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan starting his poll campaign independently and even claiming he would be CM. Nobody can stop anyone if he has the requisite numbers in the Assembly to claim the top post.”

Jana Sena political affairs committee chairman Nadendla Manohar said, “We are getting a huge response from the people, especially from the youth. People are looking for a change.”

Telugu Desam state president K. Atchannaidu said, “We are expecting a complete sweep in the Assembly polls. Our freebies announced at the Mahanadu went down well with the masses and we are also publicising them in a big way while in the campaign mode. Political alliances will be there and these will be worked out at an appropriate time to defeat the common enemy, the YSRC.”