TDP’s decision to hold its annual conclave, Mahanadu, in Kadapa, the stronghold of YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, is akin to bearding the lion in its lair at a time when the proverbial noose is tightening around the former chief minister’s neck as his key aides are being picked up one after another for the liquor scam.
Ostensibly, the TDP leadership chose to hold the three-day-long Mahanadu in Kadapa to strengthen the party’s base in Rayalaseema, showcasing its organisational skills. The party has been traditionally associated with Coastal Andhra and YSRCP with Rayalaseema, particularly Reddy’s home district Kadapa.
Last year, the TDP skipped the conclave due to the general and Assembly elections in the state. This year, after the party returned to power, preparations for the Mahanadu got underway on a grand scale between 27 and 29 May, signing off with a massive public rally on the last day at the citadel of the former chief minister. The cracks are already visible in Reddy’s citadel, but the TDP wants to send out a political signal that the decimation of his influence was imminent.
The YSRCP not only faced a humiliating defeat in the last elections, reduced to 11 seats in the state Assembly, but the party was also wiped out from eight of the 13 districts. In the home district of Kadapa, the YSRCP won only 3 out of 10 seats and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy retained Pulivendula with the lowest ever margin.
After the elections, Reddy finds himself more and more isolated as key aides and leaders have jumped ship, opting to join either JSP or BJP, if not the arch rival TDP. Even if some of his leaders are still with him, they are busy saving their necks, as most have investigations going on against them.
Investigations into the Rs-3,200 crore scam by a he Special Investigation Team of the Andhra Pradesh Police and the Enforcement Directorate have further cornered the former chief minister, who mostly stays away from AP these days.
During its reign, the YSRCP allegedly came up with a new liquor policy, floated a new brand and received kickbacks from the distillery companies, which caused huge losses to the state exchequer. The key accused, Raj Kasireddy, was the IT advisor to the then chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, while another accused, Govindappa Balaji, was a director of Bharathi Cements, which is again associated with the YSRCP chief.
Balaji has been arrested while the SIT is grilling K Dhanunjaya Reddy, a retired IAS officer and ex-secretary to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, while he was in office and Krishna Mohan Reddy, who was an officer on special duty. All three were allegedly handed over the kickbacks collected by Kasireddy. According to investigators, all those under the scanner for the scam are linked to YSRCP supremo. The TDP’s Mahanadu, held for the first time in Kadapa will be another blow for the beleaguered Opposition leader.