The decision of Jana Sena Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to recommend his elder brother Nagababu’s name for a cabinet berth in the Chandrababu Naidu-led coalition government has sparked an interesting discussion in political circles.
Notably, a section of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) cadre believes that their party president and former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy lacked the foresight to keep his own family members in good spirits during his tenure as the state’s leader.
By lobbying for his elder brother’s inclusion in the state cabinet, Pawan Kalyan has ensured harmony within his family and party ranks.
For Nagababu, this move is particularly significant, as he had reportedly been feeling sidelined for not being considered for a Rajya Sabha seat or the post of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams chairman.
Similarly, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has also made efforts to keep his family members content.
While promoting his son Nara Lokesh, he has also given due prominence to his brother-in-law Nandamuri Balakrishna and Balakrishna’s son-in-law M. Bharat.
A section of YSRCP cadre now argues that Jagan should have followed a similar approach by involving his mother, Y S Vijayamma, or sister, Y S Sharmila, in politics.
They believe leveraging the YSR family legacy could have brought significant advantages to the party during elections.
However, Jagan deliberately kept both his mother and sister out of politics, seemingly to prevent the rise of alternative power centers within the party.
“He could have nominated Sharmila to the Rajya Sabha, where she could have focused on lobbying in Delhi without interfering in state politics,” a party activist remarked.
Jagan’s decision to exclude Sharmila from politics eventually backfired, leading to her open rebellion. Though she did not secure a seat in the 2024 elections, her smear campaign against Jagan caused considerable damage to his image.
“Had she been given a Rajya Sabha ticket, she could have been an asset to the party rather than a detractor,” the activist added.
