What Jagan must learn from his father

It has been exactly 15 years since former Prime Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy died in a tragic helicopter crash in the Nallamala hills near Atmakur in Kurnool district.

His death came as a shock to the entire state, and even after a decade and a half, he remains in the hearts of the people because of his influential leadership.

His son, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who started his political career during his father's tenure as Lok Sabha member for Kadapa, was somehow unable to adopt the YSR approach, leading to his humiliating defeat in the recent elections.

From day one, Jagan displayed a rebellious attitude instead of taking a diplomatic approach to advance in politics.

Although YSR disagreed with the party leadership on many issues, he managed to do his job and create a situation where he became indispensable to the party.

On the other hand, Jagan came into direct confrontation with the leadership simply because he was not appointed as the Prime Minister and did not replace his father.

Had he acted more diplomatically and shown patience, he too might have become indispensable to the high command.

But Jagan was too impatient to wait for his chance.

He left the Congress and formed his own political party – the YSR Congress Party. He received massive support from politicians and the public, not because they strongly believed in his leadership qualities, but because he was the son of YSR.

The partition of Andhra Pradesh also helped Jagan consolidate his position in state politics, as the people rejected the Congress party, which was blamed for the partition, and saw no alternative to the TDP other than the YSRCP.

Nevertheless, people voted for the TDP in 2014 for various reasons, including a strategic alliance with the BJP. Nevertheless, the YSRCP came into a strong position, again largely due to the YSR legacy, which helped Jagan strengthen his party and eventually come to power in 2019.

After Jagan took office in 2019, the differences between him and his father in terms of administrative and political strategies became glaringly clear.

While YSR introduced several welfare schemes like free electricity, fee reimbursement and Arogya Sri, which are still being continued by his successors, he never ignored development.

During YSR's tenure, several infrastructure projects were developed in the state, including Krishnapatnam Port, Visakhapatnam IT Corridor, Outer Ring Road, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Pharma City and Sri City Special Economic Zone.

In contrast, Jagan focused primarily on his “Navaratnalu” – nine social welfare programs, some of which were continuations of older programs – and allocated the bulk of government revenue to these programs, often requiring heavy borrowing.

Although he ensured the effective implementation of these plans, this was not enough to satisfy the population. There were no job creation plans, no industrial development and no wealth creation initiatives.

Politically too, Jagan lagged strategically behind his father. While YSR won the support of all castes, including the Kammas and Kapus, and not just the Reddys, Jagan alienated these communities and even targeted their financial base to suppress them politically, which backfired.

Unlike YSR, who was open and friendly to all party MPs, ministers and even the common people, Jagan isolated himself and was hardly approachable even to his own MPs, let alone the general public.

As a result, a small group of party leaders formed around him, controlling the entire party. This circle lacked a mass base and prevented the concerns of the people from reaching Jagan, which ultimately led to his humiliating defeat in the recent elections.

At the very least, Jagan must now abandon his authoritarian approach, adopt a more open stance towards party leaders and members, engage regularly with the public and focus on development issues rather than just social programmes.

Ultimately, it is YSR’s legacy that could help reshape Jagan’s image!