Political Fights See Leaders Targeting Rivals at Personal and Family Levels

Vijayawada: Political campaigns in AP are increasingly turning murky, with leaders of major parties "exposing" even the personal lives of their rivals, so as to make electoral gains in the 2024 polls.

While the earlier practice was generally to criticise the government in terms of its policies and performances in dignified ways, some leaders today are speaking out against the family lives of their rivals.

A senior leader said the criticism is so harsh that “our family members have changed their phone numbers and social media accounts to avoid embarrassing situations."

Former minister and Achanta MLA (YSRC) Sriranganatha Raju said, “Some leaders are using abusive language in the public domain. I have advised (Jana Sena chief) Pawan Kalyan publicly to change his styles of language and behaviour while addressing public meetings.”

Telugu Desam national spokesman Pattabhi Ram said, “Politicians should stop thinking about leaders from other parties as their enemies. The days of healthy debates in legislatures on matters of public importance are gone. The brute strength of legislators is taking the upper hand in Assemblies and Parliament.”

Water resources minister Ambati Rambabu said, “We have gone down to such a depth that there may not be any easy retrieval in the immediate past. Though abusing political opponents is not a new thing, look at Pawan Kalyan and the way he started challenging our party leaders and saying he would hit them with chappals. This is very unfortunate.”

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had targeted Pawan Kalyan the other day with a reference to him allegedly having many wives.