YSR Congress Party chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has repeatedly stated that if the coalition government completes one year in power and he stays focused over the next three years, the YSRCP will regain control of the state.
He believes that public dissatisfaction with the coalition’s governance is steadily growing.
According to Jagan, if people could reward the YSRCP for its performance in government, they will eventually reject the current alliance, which he claims has done very little.
While anti-incumbency is a natural factor in any democracy, it remains unclear whether Jagan is also working to rebuild a positive image of the YSRCP, alongside criticizing the failures of the ruling coalition.
If he continues to rely solely on anti-government sentiment without addressing his party’s internal issues, it could result in further political setbacks.
Looking ahead to the next elections, it's evident that several former YSRCP candidates need to be replaced.
During the party’s previous tenure, many MLAs and leaders distanced themselves from the public and their own cadre due to unchecked misconduct and abuse of power.
Jagan cannot overlook the fact that while he was focused on delivering welfare through direct benefit transfers, many of his party’s representatives were embroiled in land encroachments, illegal gravel and sand mining, and other corrupt practices.
Bringing those same faces back into the party fold would be unacceptable to both the public and grassroots workers. Jagan must acknowledge the need to drop leaders with severely tarnished reputations.
His first priority should be to address internal issues within the YSRCP and entrust capable, clean leaders with key responsibilities.
Only then can anti-incumbency work in the party’s favor. Loyalists and senior leaders now hope that Jagan will seriously reflect on this and take decisive steps to set the party on the right course before it’s too late.
