Will YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy contemplating to go in for mid-term elections in the state?
Such a discussion seems to be going on in a section of media.
Though it is difficult to know what is there in the minds of Jagan, there is a possibility that he might consider this option of mid-term elections to consolidate his power in the state and decimate the Telugu Desam Party, the main opposition.
According to some reports, Jagan is learnt to have told the cabinet colleagues that a team of Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC) led by political strategist Prashant Kishor would get into action from March, 2022, to obtain the feedback from the people on the performance of his government in general.
The team would also obtain the feedback from the people on the performance of his ministers and MLAs, so that it would help him overhaul his party and also the government.
“As of now, the general impression among the people about the Jagan government is good because of the implementation of welfare schemes. But in the coming years, the government might find it tough to implement the schemes and it might result in an anti-establishment situation which might be capitalised by the TDP in the next three years,” an analyst said.
So, Jagan is said to be of the view that if he goes in for mid-term elections sometime in the last quarter of 2022, the YSRC would definitely come to power once again and he could rule the state for the next five years without any hassles.
“If the mid-term elections are held, the TDP will not be able to come to power at any cost, because there would be no anti-incumbency wave nor would it have the capacity to take on the YSRC. So, it will have to wait till 2027 end, if it has any dreams of capturing power,” the analyst said.
If the TDP can’t win the elections, it would fade out of the state politics, as its president N Chandrababu Naidu would not be in a position to lead the party.
“He would be physically and mentally exhausted by 2027 end and there is no other alternative leadership in the TDP. So, it will gradually disappear from the state political scene,” the analyst added.
It will be interesting to see whether Jagan would really go in for mid-term elections or wait till his term ends in 2024.