When there were leaks to some sections of media from the team of Prashant Kishor, the political strategist hired by YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy that the party is going to launch a new initiative called YSR Kutumbam on the eighth death anniversary of late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, it generated a lot of enthusiasm.
Both party cadre and media persons thought it would be an innovative concept launched by Prashant team to invoke the spirit of YSR and his populist schemes to attract the people. There were reports that the scheme was to spread the message across all the beneficiaries of his schemes and bring them together in the name of YSR Kutumbam.
But when it was finally launched on Saturday, it came as a big disappointment to many. The YSR Kutumbam scheme was nothing but just a new name given to the fresh membership drive being planned by the party.
Jagan said the people would be enrolled in the scheme till October 2, followed by his six-month Padayatra starting from October 27. Requesting the YSRCP activists to join the programme and make it a grand success, he said each activist should enrol at least one person in the YSR Kutumbam.
The booth committee organizers will be trained on the programme until September 11. They will spend 20 minutes at each house and will campaign for 20 hours a day. During this drive, the activist will explain the people about YSR regime and Chandrababu Naidu’s maladministration.
The aim of this drive to increase the party membership on a large scale and to popularise Navaratnalu across the state.
This is nothing but a sort of membership drive and resembles “gadapa gadapakoo YSR” programme taken up earlier. These booth committees and door-to-door campaign was experimented by many parties in the past, including the Telugu Desam Party.
And more often than not, the party activists end up in making bogus enrolment of workers and that will ultimately damage the party.
So, better come up with fresh ideas, Mr Prashant!
