YSR Congress is already the fifth largest party in the Lok Sabha with 22 MPs to its name. This happened after the 2019 election when Jagan called on the AP voters to give him a clear majority in the assembly and Lok Sabha. Whether or not Jagan used this number game in Lok Sabha for the people of AP will be validated based on the public mandate that will be given in the 2024 election.
But even before the public mandate is out, the demand has increased for YSRCP at the center as the party’s strength in the Rajyasabha has increased to 11 with the swearing-in of three new RS MPs, YV Subba Reddy, Golla Babu Rao, and Meda Raghunath Reddy.
With 11 Rajyasabha MPs on YCP’s side, the party has emerged as the fourth largest party in the higher house with BJP, Congress, and TMC being the top three. In the future, there might come a situation where whichever party forms the government at the center might need YCP RS MPs’ support to pass certain bills. This gives a lot of leverage to YCP in the highest house of the country and demand favors from the central government in exchange for their support.
But as the popular political saying goes; having power is just half of the story and how this power is used is what matters. Will YCP leverage this domination in the Rajya Sabha for the interests of the AP people?