The Real Test For YS Jagan

The YCP registered landslide victory winning 151 seats of the 175-member Legislative Assembly and since then, the party has been projecting it as a ‘Bahubali range’ achievement. Of course, there is some reality and a bit of hyperbole in it. The question here is can Jagan really match with the Bahubali range expectations as being claimed by the party leaders and it can be known only if he passes this litmus test.

The Centre has decided to privatise VSP and people in North Andhra have been opposing it tooth and nail. Employees, workers and other stakeholders are fuming at the Centre over the decision. The reaction of the employees, workers unions, opposition parties and people’s organisations does not make much difference when compared with the action to be taken by the ruling YCP.

The protests and agitation by the opposition parties and stakeholders would not be taken into cognizance by the powers that be. Moreover, opposition party leader N. Chandrababu Naidu’s opinion on the issue would not be taken into consideration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When Naidu himself is not opposing the proposal, then there is very little the party MPs can do. In reality, there would not be much loss to the TDP, whether it opposed or backed the proposal.

The entire responsibility of stalling the privatisation of VSP rests on Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and obviously, the party MPs would have to take the same stand their leader approves.

Jagan’s action plan with regard to VSP is drawing the attention of politicians and industrialists too. It is understood that passing a resolution in the Assembly against privatisation and forwarding it to Modi would not serve the purpose. It requires convincing the Centre and stalling the privatisation procedure. If Jagan cannot do this, then he should speak to Modi, reimburse the Centre’s share in the PSU and completely take the organisation into the state government’s fold.

In view of Jagan’s plan to establish the executive capital in Vizag, it is much needed for him to do something to save VSP from being privatised. If the executive capital is shifted without stalling the privatisation of VSP, it would reflect negatively for the YCP government.

If Jagan can save VSP from privatisation, then no force can stop from him raising into ‘Bahubali’ as he would bag the double credit of saving the VSP and also establishing the executive capital in the port city.