Jagan is poor at heart - but not in terms of riches

Does the word ‘Satyameva Jayate’ have any relevance in the present-day politics, more so in Andhra Pradesh? The richest Chief Minister in the country, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy claims he is the ‘Peda Bidda’ (poor son) and hence he wants people to stand by him just as Lord Krishna stood by Arjuna. If he is poor how is that he has three palaces: the present CM camp office in Tadepalli, the one in Bangalore, and Lotus Pond in Hyderabad and the one recently constructed after destroying Rishi Konda in Visakhapatnam.

Maybe he is right in one way. He is poor at heart not in terms of money or palaces. He claims that he is Arjuna and that his arrows are his welfare schemes. But the big question now is whether these arrows are effective enough to make him win. Are the people of the state that blind?

Sharmila who was said to be the missile of Jagan during the last elections has now changed her direction and is causing sleepless nights to the Chief Minister.

He is facing maximum heat from his own sister who is giving a counter attack to every statement of Jagan and even alleges that she is being threatened by YSRCP gang. She even went to the extent of saying that it is she who is the real political successor of YS Rajasekhara Reddy and not Jagan. YSR never went back on his promises, but Jagan never implemented what he promised, she is thundering from all public platforms. Her attack has been so shrill that even the shouting brigade of YSRCP which had used filthiest language against all other opponents, particularly TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and his wife Bhuvaneswari, are finding it difficult to counter her.

So far, Sharmila has been focussing on how YSR developed the state and how he never went back on his words while her brother made tall promises used her services to save the party when he was in jail and how he dumped not only her and their mother but also the people of the state. She charged him with taking a ‘U’ turn on all the pre-poll promises. Analysts feel that if the criticism becomes shriller, she may even refer to the issue of the murder of her uncle Vivekananda.

The main reason for Sharmila to give vent to her pent-up anger is the injustice that was meted out to her and her mother. Things did not end there. After she entered the state politics as the new APCC chief, the ruling party started indulging in her character assassination, even dragging her first marriage. The YSRCP is known for hitting below the belt. They did in case of Pawan Kalyan when they referred to his three marriages and continue to call him a package star. Now they have added the name of Sharmila also to that category.

While Sharmila is boldly attacking her brother directly, the Chief Minister is finding it difficult to take on her directly. That is why they are trying to bring in Arjunas and Abhimanyus into the picture. It remains to be seen how the Chief Minister would deflect the arrows from his sister if he feels he is Arjuna.

What Naidu and Pawan could not do, Sharmila is doing now. She is washing the dirty linen in the public much to the embarrassment of the Chief Minister. The 2024 elections will be remembered for ever in the electoral history of the state.