Tirumala Laddu Fiasco: YCP Game Plan Succeeds?

For the last year or so, Andhra Pradesh politics has been extensively revolving around the Tirumala Laddu controversy. The Supreme Court constituted a CBI-led SIT investigation into the case, and preliminary findings have been emerging steadily.

In this context, something significant happened yesterday, as the CBI-led SIT submitted its primary report, offering a glimpse into the investigation’s findings.

According to the report, it was established in principle that no traces of animal fat were found in the four samples tested by the LARD. This essentially means the samples did not contain animal fat.

Soon after this information became public, the YCP ecosystem went all out, launching sharp attacks on Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan, who had earlier targeted Jagan over the Tirumala Laddu contamination issue.

YCP leaders and their social media groups heavily promoted this development, projecting Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan as being at fault for making false allegations against Jagan and for allegedly damaging the sanctity of the Tirumala Laddu.

However, what YCP is doing here appears to be a calculated strategy, as it is highlighting only one side of the story while conveniently ignoring the other.

The key fact emerging from the CBI investigation is that pure ghee was missing during the preparation of the laddus in the first place. It was also found that plant based fats were mixed into the ghee used for preparation.

According to allegations cited by the TDP, substances such as beta carotene, acetic acid ester, lactic acid, palm kernel oil, and other compounds were detected in the contaminated ghee. It has further been alleged that corruption worth several hundred crores may be linked to the ghee procurement process.

While it is becoming increasingly clear that pure ghee was not used in the preparation of the Tirumala Laddu, YCP is focusing solely on the “no animal fat in laddu” angle. By aggressively pushing this narrative, the party has flooded social media platforms with this version of the story and appears to have successfully driven its messaging so far.