In Jagan Reddy’s Andhra Pradesh that Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP vows to save and salvage, post the 13th May 2024 elections, anything is game in the fight for political survival. Andhra’s political shenanigans are at its worst. A.P politics have been in the news, for silly reasons. In a new low, Naidu’s TDP (Telugu Desam Party) and Reddy’s YSRCP (YSR Congress party) have been accusing each other of entering people’s bedrooms, ahead of the state’s one day-single phase elections for both the state assembly and the Lok Sabha – they are blame-gaming each other for advertising their parties on condom packages!
The incumbent YSRCP, a first-time winner in politics post the 2019 elections, has been accused of a long list of electoral strategies, blatantly flouting the MCC (Model Code of Conduct), the Election Commission of India’s set of clearly defined rules for appropriate conduct in public, during the crucial pre-election phase. Jagan has too much to lose both personally and politically, if his YSR Congress party ends up losing the 2024 elections.
Currently out on an extended bail for a number of already proven financial and criminal cases, Jagan Reddy is sure to get arrested by the CBI and the ED, if he loses this election. His political loss would be significant too. His new, fledgling party with an experience of just two electoral participations and one win, may die an early death, if its only founder, ends up in prison, for a longer term than the year and a half that Jagan had already spent in jail, before the 2019 elections. Apparently, in anticipation of a tough election and the likelihood of a win for the opposition TDP party and its NDA alliance, Jagan Reddy, his immediate family and his closest aide, Vijay Sai Reddy, have already applied for visas to the U.K!
Aside from the ridiculous ‘condom campaign’ adverts, the YSRCP has been caught with various other campaign techniques including the usual bets of food, liquor, clothing and money distribution. Among Jagan Reddy’s unique, hitherto unheard of attempts, to bypass the Election Commission’s rules for the election process and its published rules of conduct under the MCC, are the following:
– Attempts to influence the ECI (Election Commission of India) in selecting YSRCP party “volunteers” to act as election agents at polling booths. Jagan Reddy tried arguing that the volunteers (high school graduates at a minimum) were already engaged in the distribution of government welfare benefits and hence qualified to be trained and employed for election duty.
– A phone/ internet based link or barcode provided during the YSRCP’s door-to-door campaign. The voter is asked to pledge support to the YSRCP and given access to a payment link / barcode. Clicking on the link ensures a payment of anywhere between two to four thousand rupees per person, deposited into the voter’s bank account besides the thousands given away last month.
– Advertising to the electorate about promised sums of money if they abstain from voting or promise not to vote for the TDP-JSP-BJP (NDA) alliance in Andhra.
– Fear mongering among the Scheduled classes about all welfare schemes, both state and central, coming to an absolute end, if the TDP comes to power.
– Continued disregard for directions from both the A.P High Court as well as the ECI (Election Commission of India) against the YSRCP’s use of its “volunteers” taking the place of regular government employees, for the disbursement of free goods and funds, in the name of welfare schemes.
– Continued disregard for painting all government offices and service providers with the colours of the YSRCP party.
– Open and blatant misuse of the state’s police and its agencies to such an extent that, after several warnings to the current YSRCP government, the ECI insisted on replacing the DGP (Director General of Police) of Andhra Pradesh with another senior IPS officer, less than two weeks ahead of the May 13 election date. In all fairness to the replaced top cop of the state, the public knows him as a decent professional by and large, wanting to abide by the law yet unable to curb excessive interference from Jagan Reddy and his leaders.
– Claiming that the Opposition leader, Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP, has asked various financial institutions and central government agencies to disregard his own state and refuse financial aid to A.P.
– In spite of warnings from the ECI, enticing the public with announcements of paying all delayed or missing pension and welfare-benefits payments (many claim the delay to be an intentional one) just one or two days before the election date of May 13.
– The ECI took serious offense to the above announcement, in spite of its earlier warnings against such late payments during the pre-election period. On being strictly forbidden from implementing his plan, Jagan Reddy stated that his party wanted to generously pay regular as well as additional pension and benefit amounts but that the opposition parties were preventing him from doing his “duty” for the people.
– Granting a senior YSRCP MLA, Peddi Reddy and his son, another YSRCP MLA, permission to illegally prevent any opposition parties from campaigning in their constituencies, with violent means such as intimidating and thrashing the opposition’s rally participants and damaging their campaign vehicles. In a shocking incident, reminiscent of medieval times, the local YSRCP leader and his family, openly used violence in stopping the campaign of the opposition, while the police were asked to remain silent bystanders.
– Having his party make remarks about his own sister, Y S Sharmila of the A.P Congress party unit, regarding her birth and paternity. The outrageous remarks crossing a line of decency and personal attacks on character, were made out of frustration, for her role in a probable split of the Minority and Scheduled caste vote bank, between his own YSR Congress party and her Indian National Congress (INC) party, likely resulting in an advantage for the TDP and the NDA alliance.
Shivani is a freelance writer from Vijayawada.
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