VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided that three capitals for the state of Andhra Pradesh will be the main slogan for ruling YSRC to fight the state assembly general elections in 2024.
Party sources say this is a master stroke, as three capitals will be to the liking of more people than Amaravati being the sole capital of Andhra Pradesh, behind which Telugu Desam and other opposition parties have thrown their weight.
Jagan Mohan Reddy has made his intention clear by launching a scathing attack against main opposition TD in the State Legislative Assembly through a discussion on decentralised development in Andhra Pradesh. He has followed it up with filing of a Special Leave Petition in Supreme Court against AP High Court’s verdict of developing Amaravati as the sole capital of the state.
The Chief Minister has clearly picked up the gauntlet after TD leaders led by Nimmala Rama Naidu challenged Jagan Mohan Reddy to go in for fresh elections over Three Capitals. It is now clear that the 2024 elections will be fought with Three Capitals versus Amaravati as agendas of YSRC and TD.
The main opposition has been assiduously promoting Amaravati as sole capital of AP state. It stood by the areas’ farmers and also backed their long march earlier to Tirumala-Tirupati on the issue, which was quite a success.
Further, along with other opposition parties, Telugu Desam is supporting Amaravati-Arasavalli Padayatra launched a few days ago by farmers of Amaravati. This walkathon has also gone on smoothly through Guntur and Krishna districts, without facing much protests.
This seems to have forced YSRC high-command to rethink its welfare strategy for Mission 2024 Elections.
Senior political analysts recall that Navaratnalu had been the main agenda of YSRC in 2019 elections. The party has fulfilled 98 percent of the promises it made during those elections. Jagan Mohan Reddy now needs a new hot topic as agenda for the 2024 assembly elections. He seems to have decided on development of all regions through Three Capitals as his main agenda. The belief is that this will attract people of north Andhra, Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra. Further, the YSRC chief has affirmed that Amaravati will continue as legislative capital of AP.
Analysts say there are 18 months to go for elections. Jagan and YSRC will utilise the period to make decentralised development through Three Capitals as their main agenda in 2024 elections.
Ministers Botsa Satyanarayana and Adimulapu Suresh, apart from other leaders have affirmed that Three Capitals is their government’s policy, which would be implemented. They claim that there is need to develop backward areas of the state to avoid demands like Telangana. They maintain that Three Capitals means all round development.
