YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was warned about an impending defeat in the state assembly elections as early as last year, but he refused to believe it.
This revelation was made by none other than Jagan’s uncle and former minister Balineni Srinivas Reddy, who represented the Ongole assembly constituency. On Thursday, Balineni announced his resignation from the party.
Speaking to reporters, he stated that most party leaders had known for over a year that the YSRCP was likely to lose power in the 2024 assembly elections, as dissatisfaction with Jagan’s rule had grown among people at the grassroots level.
“Even the Director General of Intelligence, P. S. R. Anjaneyulu, informed Jagan that the situation was not in favor of the YSRCP government for various reasons. But Jagan reacted by angrily dismissing the intelligence report,” he said.
Balineni described Jagan as a despotic leader, blaming his stubbornness and poor judgment for the downfall of the government.
“I can no longer tolerate his attitude, which is why I’ve decided to resign from the party,” he added.
Addressing his earlier concerns about Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), despite being aware of the YSRCP’s likely defeat, the former minister admitted that he had raised allegations of EVM tampering under pressure from Jagan.
“However, the outcome was already clear—Jagan was heading for defeat. So, EVMs would not have made much difference,” he concluded.