As the elections to the Andhra Pradesh state assembly are fast approaching, political atmosphere is heating up gradually.
While YSR Congress party led by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is gearing up for a lone battle, there is no clarity yet from the opposition parties.
However, all the opposition parties – the Telugu Desam Party, the Jana Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communists – have been unleashing sharp attack on the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
Though they have been going in their own way to create an anti-incumbency atmosphere in the state, they have a common goal – of pulling down the YSRCP from power.
But there has not been much retort from the YSRCP, which has failed to a large extent in countering the opposition. Only a handful of YSRC leaders are seen and heard in the media in criticising Chandrababu Naidu, Lokesh, Pawan Kalyan and others.
That too, only a few leaders from Kapu community are coming forward to defend Jagan and attack Pawan and Naidu. Among the Reddy community leaders, only tourism minister R K Roja is in the forefront in making pungent attack on the opposition.
Even the so-called seniors and those who have a lot of support base in their respective constituencies are maintaining strategic silence, for various reasons – some of them lost their minister posts, some others did not get the cabinet berths and some others who could not get the expected financial benefits from the government.
These disgruntled leaders are of the view that there is no need for bearing the brunt of the opposition attack by taking the side of Jagan, as they won’t get anything in return.
According to sources, these YSRC leaders are not responding to the directions from the party’s information wing to speak on a particular subject targeting the opposition. Even those, who were earlier believed to be closer to Jagan, are not showing interest in appearing before the media, despite the criticism from the opposition parties.
Most of these YSRC leaders have the same grouse against Jagan – that he had not bothered about them in the last four years nor had he recognised their loyalty and services by giving them posts. So, they are said to be under the impression that they would be losing opportunity by unnecessarily criticising Chandrababu Naidu.
But what is surprising is that not just those who did not get any benefit from Jagan, even those YSRC leaders who have been enjoying positions in the party and the government are also not opening up their mouths against the political rivals.
In a way, they are adopting a sort of escapist attitude. If this is the situation, one wonders who would raise their voice strongly in support of the party in the coming days.