10 Years Of YSRCP: A Journey Full Of Ups & Downs

Exactly after 18 months since his father and ex-CM of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s tragic demise, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched his political party Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) on this very day, in 2011. Today marks the 10th formation day of the YSRCP.

YS Jagan’s journey in politics has not been a bed of roses. Soon after his father’s demise, his desperate attempts at stepping into his father’s shoes as the AP CM were thwarted by the then Congress state and central high commands. It was only after facing a lot of humiliation by the leaders of the grand old party that Jagan had decided to quit Congress and launch his own political outfit. He did float party and established the party in united state in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

In a huge setback to his image and political aspirations, Jagan was arrested by the CBI on corruption charges and he spent 16 months in the Chanchalguda jail. Eventually, the subsequent Telangana agitation gained steam. TRS came to center stage in Telangana leaving Andhra leaders and their political parties politically irrelevant in the Telangana region.

Meanwhile, Jagan suffered another blow in the first general election that took place in Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation. TDP led to power under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu with the support of BJP and Pawan Kalyan’s Janasena. Jagan had to limit to Opposition with 67 MLAs whereas TDP formed the government with 102 of its MLAs.

Now, Naidu’s political acumen further cornered Jagan. TDP had encouraged defections. 23 MLAs and 3 MPs who had won on YSRCP had shifted their loyalties to then ruling TDP. This is blow. It was tough phase for Jagan to retain the leaders and run an Opposition party.

Meanwhile, Jagan had fought against the defections but in vain. He had announced that he would not step into the Assembly against the defections.

Meanwhile, Jagan’s popularity only increased by leaps and bounds. Even the image that took a beating due to imprisonment turned into a sympathy in addition to the sympathy that got after the loss in the 2014 polls.

As a Leader of Opposition in the AP Assembly, Jagan took his party closer to the people by successfully reprising his father’s trump card ‘Padayatra’. Jagan toured over 3,000 kms across all the districts in Andhra Pradesh and succeeded in convincing the masses believe that he is the true heir to his father’s political legacy. 

And with allegations of corruption on TDP in its 5 year tenure, fight against the Centre, unable to get Special Category Status and other factors led to an anti-incumbency. All these helped Jagan-led YSRCP register a landslide victory in the 2019 general elections by winning a record 151 MLAs and 22 MPs, limiting CBN’s TDP to just 23 MLAs and 3 MPs in Lok Sabha.

Soon after fulfilling his long-cherished dream of adorning the CM chair, Jagan implemented the Navaratnalu scheme to bring the promised ‘Rajanna Rajyam’ in Andhra Pradesh. With the loan waiver, increased pension to senior citizens and other populist schemes,. Jagan did make a mark in AP politics.

On the other hand, despite coming to power, Jagan’s political journey continues to be an uneven ride. He is often criticised for not strongly voicing people’s aspirations, be it the Amaravati farmers issue, the forgotten AP Special Status demand or the latest Vizag Steel Plant privatization issue. 

Jagan’s next big challenge ahead of the 2024 general elections would be to contain the main opposition TDP and the BJP-Janasena alliance that’s posing a threat, apart from retaining people’s trust on his governance.