Whenever any elections were held in Andhra Pradesh in the last three years, the ruling YSR Congress party under the leadership of chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has been winning them hands down.
Right from the gram panchayats to mandal parishad and zilla parishads to municipalities and corporation elections and even the by-elections to Tirupati Lok Sabha seat and Badvel and Atmakur assembly seats, the YSRC recorded thumping victories.
Now, amidst talk of increasing graph of the opposition Telugu Desam Party, the YSRC has got yet another chance to prove its supremacy and hold among the people ahead of the next assembly elections.
They are the elections to three seats in the state legislative council from graduates’ constituencies. Of course, these elections are due in March, but Jagan doesn’t want to take them easy and has started preparations for the same from now on.
These three MLCs, together represent nine districts – Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, Anantapur, Kadapa, Kurnool, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam, which are very significant for the YSRC.
While first three districts are represented by Progressive Democratic Front candidate Y Srinivasulu Reddy, the three Rayalaseema districts are represented by YSRC MLC V Gopal Reddy and north coastal Andhra districts are represented by BJP candidate Madhav.
Though the voters in these three graduates’ constituencies do not form the real vote bank of the YSRC comprising beneficiaries of Jagan’s welfare schemes, they definitely reflect the voting pattern in the urban areas and the educated voters.
So, in a way, these elections can be considered a precursor to the next assembly elections. That is why, Jagan wants to take them seriously and teach a lesson to the opposition parties.
Sources said Jagan wants to field strong candidates in these three constituencies and mobilise all the resources to see that the YSRC grabs all the three seats at any cost. The candidates would be announced well in advance, sources said.
He has decided to entrust the responsibility of winning these seats to senior ministers who should make efforts from now on.
“We need to attract the educated voters by addressing their needs. These elections will give us clarity on the mood of the people in the next elections,” Jagan is learnt to have told the party leaders.
