The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) appears to have missed a big political opportunity to corner the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led coalition over the Heritage–Indapur ghee controversy by staying away from the state assembly, even as it has succeeded in mounting an aggressive campaign in the state legislative council.
Led by former minister Botsa Satyanarayana, the YSRCP has been putting up a spirited show in the legislative council on the Tirumala ghee issue.
For the past four days, the party has stalled proceedings demanding a detailed discussion on the alleged nexus between Heritage Foods and Indapur Dairy in the supply of ghee to Tirumala at what it claims are exorbitant prices.
The sustained protests and disruptions in the council have drawn national attention and placed the ruling coalition—comprising the TDP, Jana Sena Party and the BJP—on the defensive.
So far, there has been no strong or coordinated counter from the ruling alliance. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and minister Nara Lokesh have also refrained from issuing any detailed response to the allegations, lending credence to the YSRCP allegations.
However, analysts believe that the YSRCP could have generated far greater public traction had it raised the issue inside the state assembly as well.
Despite its limited numerical strength in the assembly, the party had an opportunity to use the Heritage–Indapur controversy to mount sustained pressure on the government and force a direct response on the floor of the House.
Analysts argue that YSRCP president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy lost a golden chance to politically corner the TDP-led coalition by continuing the boycott of assembly proceedings.
While the party’s aggressive stance in the legislative council has kept the issue alive, disruptions in the assembly would likely have had a much stronger political and media impact, potentially putting both Naidu and Lokesh in a tight spot.
The decision to boycott the assembly over the denial of Leader of the Opposition status has not yielded tangible political gains for the party, observers say.
Instead, it has limited the YSRCP’s ability to directly confront the government in the main legislative forum and maximise the political mileage from a potentially sensitive issue.
Although Jagan Mohan Reddy attempted to compensate by holding a marathon three-hour press conference on the Heritage ghee controversy, the exercise did not generate the level of public and media traction that sustained assembly interventions might have produced.
In retrospect, analysts believe the continued boycott of assembly proceedings has turned into a strategic failure for the YSRCP leadership.
By staying away from the House, the party may have squandered a crucial opportunity to sharpen its attack on the ruling coalition and capitalise on an issue that could have resonated strongly in the public domain.