Telangana effect: Jagan may deny tickets to 40 MLAs

Hyderabad: Learning a lesson or two from the BRS poll debacle in the recently concluded Telangana Assembly elections, YSRCP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy may deny tickets to at least 40 sitting MLAs, who are facing anti-incumbency, in the 2024 Assembly polls.

Jagan is said to have understood that at least 40 sitting MLAs of the ruling YSRCP are facing severe anti-incumbency in their respective assembly constituencies due to several factors.

One of the main reasons the BRS lost in Telangana was due to the fatigue factor against the party’s MLAs who were renominated.

In an attempt to reward loyalty, BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao had renominated almost all the sitting MLAs except around 12 to fight the polls. This move had cost the BRS dearly as the anti-incumbency against the MLAs had led to the party’s debacle.

Interestingly in 12 places where MLAs were replaced with new candidates, BRS won nine. There was a general belief in BRS that if KCR had changed another 10 to 15 candidates the strategy would have worked in favour of the party.

Several MLAs (among the 151 total) have already received indications that they may not be renominated to contest the 2024 polls.

Jagan has set an ambitious target of bagging all the 175 seats with a slogan “Why not 175” leaving no seats for the TDP, including N Chandrababu Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh.

“Our leader can’t take risks if the party wants to retain power. To ensure another victory one of the key factors is to contain anti-incumbency against the MLAs. To checkmate that he doesn’t have any choice than changing the MLAs and candidates. They will be rewarded later,” a YSRCP leader told DH.

Internal discussions in YSRCP point out that while there has been no opposition against the government, many of the MLAs are facing stiff resistance from the cadres and the general public due to local factors.

To curtail that Jagan had conducted mass outreach programmes like ‘Gadapa Gadapa ki mana prabhuthvam’ where he asked the MLAs to visit every household in their segments and explain the good work done by the government .

Mangalagiri MLA resigns

In a significant development, Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, the Mangalagiri MLA from YSRCP who secured victory over TDP’s Nara Lokesh in the 2019 polls, has submitted his resignation both as an MLA and from the party.

Sources said Jagan’s decision to field a BC leader from Mangalagiri in 2024 polls had led to Reddy’s resignation.