By Mohammed Shafeeq,IANS,
Hyderabad : Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s victory from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh was never in doubt considering the firm grip of his family has had in the region for over two decades, but it is the record majority which has shocked his political rivals.
By retaining the seat with a majority of over 500,000, the young leader has justified his claim to be the real successor of his late father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s political legacy.
The victory of his mother Y.S. Vijayalaxmi from Pulivendula assembly seat, also with a record margin, is an indication of YSR’s popularity even one-and-half year after his death.
While the YSR family won all the elections in Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency since 1989 and in Pulivendula since 1978, this is the first time that it contested the polls in his absence and on the ticket of a non-Congress party.
Jagan, as the late chief minister’s son is popularly known, won the elections within three months after launching YSR Congress party.
Political observers say with this victory, YSR Congress party may emerge as the third key political force in the state, following the decision of Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) to merge with the Congress.
All eyes will now be on the next move of YSR Congress chief, who had predicted during the campaign that Congress government in the state would fall in six months.
Jagan, who had termed the by-elections a fight between late YSR and Sonia Gandhi, proved his political mettle though the Congress used all the force at its command to defeat him and his mother.
Even the argument of the Congress that YSR was its leader and it continues to implement welfare schemes launched by him, failed to cut ice with the electorate.
The 39-year-old had meteoric rise in state politics thanks to his father. Making his electoral debut in 2009, the businessman-politician won Kadapa Lok Sabha seat.
With YSR leading Congress party to second successive term in power, everything was going well for Jagan till the death of his father in a helicopter crash.
Supported by majority of legislators who were loyal to his father, the young leader staked claim to YSR’s political legacy. The central leadership of Congress party was not amused and decided to continue with K. Rosaiah, who had taken over as the chief minister after YSR’s death.
Realising the groundswell of sympathy, Jagan embarked on ‘odarpu yatra’ across the state to console families of those who died of shock or committed suicide following his father’s death. He ignored the leadership, who advised him not to take out ‘yatras’.
The decision of the leadership to replace Rosaiah with N. Kiran Kumar Reddy in November last year further angered Jagan.
He along with his mother quit the Congress and also resigned as MP and state legislator respectively, accusing the leadership of dividing the family by wooing YSR’s younger brother Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy with a berth in the state cabinet.
Born Dec 21, 1972 in Kadapa district, Jagan is the only son of YSR. A graduate in commerce, he entered into business at a young age. He is married to Bharathi Reddy and has two daughters.
Jagan, who has interests in mining, cement and power generation in several states, launched the Sakshi Telugu television news channel and newspaper in 2009.
However, the dramatic increase in Jagan’s wealth led to the demands from his rivals for a thorough probe. Both the Congress and Telugu Desam Party accuse him of amassing ill-gotten wealth by misusing power when his father was chief minister from 2004-2009.