Did Jagan Not Expect This Victory?

The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP scripted a historic win in the local body elections yesterday. In a never before feat, the ruling party decimated all its opposition parties without a trace. The fact that YSRCP clinched 73 out of 75 municipalities (hung in 2 municipalities) and 11 out of 12 corporations (Eluru corporation counting withheld due to court order) is proof enough that the people of Andhra Pradesh, starting from Srikakulam to Anantapur, placed their trust in YSRCP.

Surprisingly, Jagan and all other YSRCP leaders weren’t interested in the elections at all and desperately tried to get the polls postponed. In fact, the YSRCP had also moved the AP High Court and even the Supreme Court to ensure that the State CEC Nimmagadda postponed the elections. However, the High Court and the apex court ruled in Nimmagadda’s favour and the elections were finally held after high drama.

Needless to say, YSRCP’s emphatic victory in the elections will make everyone wonder if Jagan didn’t expect that his party would register such a historic victory. Incidentally, YSRCP moved the court when Nimmagadda postponed the elections just when the Novel Coronavirus began to spread its wings in Andhra Pradesh in March last year.

Jagan and his partymen might have feared people’s backlash on various issues like the 3-capital proposal, the Amaravati farmers agitation and the village volunteers protests among other issues. However, yesterday’s results give an entirely different picture. YSRCP has won more than 85 percent panchayats and over 95 percent corporations, proving that people are very much content with Jagan’s administration.