A normally silent Chanchalguda Central Jail in Hyderabad is flooded with visitors who have come to congratulate a high-profile prisoner – whose party swept the bypolls held in Andhra Pradesh – by winning one Lok Sabha seat and 15 Assembly constituencies.
This high-profile prisoner is YS Jaganmohan Reddy, the son of the State’s late former chief minister YS Rajashekhar Reddy and the head of YSR Congress party, who was recently arrested by the CBI for amassing huge unaccounted for wealth.
By winning the high stake election in his native state, Jagan- as he is popularly known – has not only dealt a big blow to the ruling Congress but also increased his political weight in the Andhra politics.
It is now beyond doubt that the spectacular win of the 15-month-old YSR Congress Part has given rise to the ‘Jagan phenomenon’ in Andhra Pradesh politics.
The victory of young Kadapa MP, who managed his party’s hectic political campaign from within the Chanchalguda jail, has taught tough lessons to the ruling Congress, which had resorted to all sorts of tactics to keep him away from the elections, including the act of getting him arrested by the CBI.
The political significance of YSR Congress’ victory could be understood by the fact that its leader is now being compared to stalwart NT Rama Rao, who once re-wrote the political history of the state by forming the Telugu Desam Party in 1982.
Though it will be too early to draw any comparisons between the two leaders since Jagan is a novice and politically less experienced as compared to the late NTR, nonetheless it has catapulted him to the league of big guns in a state once ruled by his late father YSR.
YSR Congress’ thumping victory is also a strong indicator of the fact that despite facing serious corruption charges, Jagan is still popular among the masses and enjoys huge support.
