Don't be overconfident, ensure YSRC's victory in Tirupati LS seat bypoll: Jagan to party leaders

Cautioning the party rank and file against being overconfident, YSR Congress president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday asked them to spare no effort to secure victory for their candidate M Gurumurthy in the April 17 by-election to the Tirupati Lok Sabha seat.

A minister and an additional MLA would be appointed as in-charges for each of the seven assembly segments under the reserved (Scheduled Caste) constituency to work for the YSRCs win in the bypoll, he told a meeting of ministers, legislators and senior party leaders at his camp office. Jagan Reddy asked his party leaders to remind every voter of the various "good deeds" of his government and "seek their blessings" for Gurumurthy, the Chief Ministers Office said in an official release here.

"By Gods grace we secured good results in the recent urban local bodies elections. Now the entire country will look to the Tirupati by-election. Party leaders should not be overconfident. All of you should work in close coordination and ensure Gurumurthys victory by a good margin. The margin of victory should be our message (to the nation)," the chief minister said. Gurumurthy, 36, is a physiotherapist, who accompanied the YSRC chief in his 3,600-km-long paadayatra (foot march) criss crossing the state in 2017-19 and tended to the latter.

He also wanted an action plan prepared to make the whole country look towards Andhra Pradesh and asked the leaders to visit each house and assure voters that the welfare agenda of the government would continue in the coming days.

The YSRC won the Tirupati Lok constituency in 2014 and again in 2019, improving its vote share from 47.84 per cent to 55.03 per cent. Ministers P R C Reddy, Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, Perni Venkataramaiah, YSRC general secretaries V Vijayasai Reddy, S R K Reddy, MP V Prabhakar Reddy, former MP and YSRC leader Y V Subba Reddy, now Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Chairman, MLAs and other leaders attended the meeting.