YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is a man of iron will and determination. If he aims at something, he will not leave it until he achieves it.
After conquering the elections to both rural and urban local bodies, Jagan is now focussing on the by-elections to Tirupati parliamentary seat, which he wants to win at any cost – by hook or crook.
And he wants the victory in Tirupati to be not an ordinary win, but an outstanding one that will turn the heads of all top political parties towards the temple town, so that everybody should talk about his grip over the state.
Jagan is brimming with such a supreme confidence that he has chosen a political novice, his personal physio Dr M Gurumoorthy, as the YSRC candidate for Tirupati by-polls, instead of a familiar face for the people of the constituency.
He conveniently avoided competition from the family of former MP Balli Durgaprasada Rao, whose death necessitated the by-poll, by nominating his son as the MLC under MLAs’ quota.
Though it is a calculated risk to field Gurumoorthy to fight against seasoned leaders like Panabaka Lakshmi of the TDP and probably a local industrialist on behalf of BJP-Jana Sena combine, Jagan has decided to prove to the country that people will respect his choice.
On Friday, Jagan held a review meeting with party leaders on Tirupati by-polls to discuss the party strategy for Tirupati.
It was attended by ministers Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, Balineni Srinivas Reddy, Perni Nani, Kodali Nani, Anil Kumar Yadav, Adimulapu Suresh and several other MLAs and MLCs.
He said the party should aim at not just victory in Tirupati, but a huge majority so that the entire country should talk about it.
“It should send a message to everybody that even the BJP will not dare look at Tirupati again,” he said.
Jagan, however, warned the party leaders against being complacent over the by-polls.
He asked them to toil day and night for the victory by extensively campaigning about the welfare and developmental schemes of the government into the people.