If someone wants to understand how an opposition can be made impotent by a state government, they should keenly observe Andhra Pradesh politics. Jagan Mohan Reddy, a Christian missionary-maniac, has rendered Chandrababu Naidu ineffective in the state through his brutal and undemocratic dictates.
Reddy’s wrath left Naidu crying alone:
In one of the rarest moments of his political career, Chandrababu Naidu was left crying alone, after repeated harassment by Jagan’s government. Naidu was talking to the media after he staged a walkout against the ruling government in the Andhra Pradesh assembly, and when asked about the procedural mishappening in the assembly, he broke down, claiming that his personal life was attacked by the members of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) – the party currently in power.
According to Mr. Naidu, his wife Bhuvaneshwari was subject to harsh and derogatory remarks from some people in the Andhra government. Talking to reporters, an anguished Mr. Naidu said, “For the last two-and-a-half years, I have been bearing the insults, but remained calm. Today, they targeted even my wife. My wife never even came into politics. I always lived with honor and for the honor. I can take it no more,”
Naidu was not given opportunity to speak for his wife:
Detailing the proceedings inside the assembly, Naidu said that during the verbal mudslinging between the ruling YSRCP and the opposition leaders, some ‘unsavory remarks’ were made against his wife. He complained that when he tried to defend his wife, he was denied any opportunity to speak, as his microphone was cut off by speaker Thammineni Seetharam. Thrusting on the fact that he was insulted in the assembly, Naidu said, “I have not been given an opportunity to even make a statement on the remarks made. So, I walk out of the Assembly. I will not return unless as Chief Minister… I have been insulted in the House.”
Denied of any opportunity inside the assembly, Mr. Naidu took to a press conference to defend his wife. He thanked his wife for supporting him at every front. According to Mr. Naidu, he never felt tormented so much in his entire political career. An emotional Naidu went on to compare the proceedings inside the assembly to the epic history of Mahabharat, and made a vow that he would return to the legislative assembly only after he becomes the Chief Minister of the state, once again.
Jagan and his undemocratically violent campaigns against the TDP:
Ever Since Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power in 2019, his party has been on a violent rampage against Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and other opposition parties. Recently, the ‘mafias’ of YSRCP had allegedly attacked the offices of TDP.
Miffed by constant harassment, Chandrababu Naidu took the fight to the centre, and asked the union government to impose presidential rule in Andhra Pradesh. Elaborating on the reasons behind his demand for the President’s Rule, he had personally written to President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah. In the letter, Mr. Naidu had cited the complete failure of the law and order, and the failure of constitutional machinery in the state, as a justification for the imposition of presidential rule.
His further demands included a probe from the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) regarding the attacks on his party offices, and protection from central police forces for the offices belonging to key leaders of the state’s opposition parties.
Reddy’s Christian appeasement is hurting Hindus, the most:
Not just lawlessness, Reddy’s minority appeasement politics centered towards pleasing the Christian missionaries’ mafia, has also proved detrimental to the state. To carry out his agenda of spreading Christianity, the Reddy government has allowed the exploitation of mandir funds, conversions, and even using the bus tickets issued to the devotees of Tirumala as an advertisement template for an advert of a state-sponsored pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
As reported by TFI, Jagan has put Andhra Pradesh in a severe debt crisis to spread Christianity in the state.
The confusing plot of Andhra Pradesh’s politics:
Andhra Pradesh’s political structure is a peculiar example of how the absence of one strong leader can destroy the state. Currently, Andhra is ruled by the YSRCP, which came to power in the 2019 assemble elections, where It had won a massive 151 seats, out of the 175 total seats that it had contested.
On the other hand, Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP could only garner 23 seats out of the 175 that it contested. Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party (JSP), which was riding on high-profile hopes, hilariously won only 1 seat, in spite of fighting on a total of 173 seats. And expectedly, all other parties, including the BJP and the Congress, could not even open their accounts.
Pawan Kalyan – an erratic political freelancer:
Currently, the BJP is on thin ice in Andhra Pradesh. After the humiliating defeat in the assembly election, BJP had to join hands with politically erratic Pawan Kalyan. The alliance forged was supposed to be a win-win for both the parties, as riding on the massive popularity of Pawan Kalyan as an actor, the BJP expected to gain some ground in the state.
Pawan Kalyan is a political freelancer. During the 2019 general elections, he had sided with the unholy nexus of various parties called Mahagathbandhan, to offer resistance to the BJP’s political wrath. He failed massively, in both the general elections, as well as the 2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections. He then decided to align with the BJP, to stay politically relevant and with high hopes of riding on the hype surrounding the BJP’s massive central election rally led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2024. Moreover, his political career is on a similar trajectory to that of his elder brother Chiranjeevi, who had to merge his party with the Indian National Congress (INC), to stay relevant, and in power.
TDP-BJP coalition is only way to save the Hindus of Andhra Pradesh:
Meanwhile, it would be better for both the BJP and TDP, if both the parties reconcile to contest the next assembly elections in the state, also slated to be held in 2024. Naidu has been a key part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for a very long time. However, perhaps overconfidence took over him during the 2019 general election, and he ditched the NDA for a possible prime ministerial post in the unholy nexus also involving Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav. Later, he even expressed regret over his decision.
Also read: General Elections 2019: BJP’s chances in Andhra Pradesh
Since Chandrababu Naidu still has massive popularity in Andhra Pradesh, the BJP can capitalise on it by aligning with TDP. If both parties want to fight YSRCP on their own, it sure will be an uphill task, with YSRCP potentially again courting the services of the infamous Prashant Kishore. Mr. Naidu needs support from a strong central party in the BJP to take action against the YSRCP-led lawlessness in the state.
Also read: BJP should abandon Pawan Kalyan and re-adopt Chandrababu Naidu if it’s serious about Andhra
Moreover, Pawan Kalyan has proved to be of no use for the BJP. And when it comes to tackling the threat of Hinduism getting ousted by Christianity in Andhra Pradesh, it is important that the BJP sidesteps Pawan Kalyan to align with Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP.