Kodi Katthi In 2018, Stone In 2024: What Is AP Public Mood?

The sitting chief minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was shockingly shaken up by a stone attack last night as a miscreant pelted a stone at him, leaving his left eyebrow injured due to the impact. But this isn’t the first time Jagan has been injured before the election as a similar incident happened before the 2019 polls when he suffered a Kodi Katthi blow to his arm.

There is a stark contrast if we compare the two incidents and correlate the public’s initial reaction. 

Back in 2018, Jagan was left injured after an accused named Srinivas stabbed his arm with a Kodi Katthi. This was a first-of-its-kind incident then and the initial reaction from the public was panicky and concerning. This incident happened in broad daylight and the images and videos of the injured Jagan trended a lot in the media. The majority of the public sympathized with Jagan and it was later seen when YCP won 151 MLA seats and 22 MP seats in the polls that were held in 2019. 

If we come to the incident that happened in Vijayawada last night, it has drawn a largely mixed response from all sections. Immediately after the incident, YCP leaders like Ambati Rambabu and Vellampalli Srinivas picked up the mic to push the blame on Chandrababu and Telugu Desam. They said Chandrababu is unable to bear the public reception that Jagan is getting and hence he devised this wicked plan to attack the YCP boss. 

But in reality, blaming the opposition leader for an attack on the chief minister who has the utmost security protocols hasn’t gone well with the public. More so, the timing of the incident is also relatable to the Kodi Katthi incident as both happened right before the election. This gave TDP the space to claim that this could be a staged attack for sympathy before the polls.

The first incident (Kodi Katthi) was more out of shock and the public immediately sympathized with Jagan, but coming to the incident last night, the initial reaction is mixed. While YCP supporters are sympathizing with Jagan, Telugu Desam activists are calling it a staged attack for public sympathy, commented a political analyst who is well versed with the Telugu states political scene.