Lakshmana Venkat Kuchi
For former Chief Minister and YSRCP chief, YS Jaganmohan Reddy it was a humiliating defeat in the family fiefdom of Pulivendula Zilla parishad territorial constituency local body elections on Thursday.
For the first time Reddy’s family lost in these local body polls that it used to win unopposed till now. In the “truly democratic elections,” when people voted freely, the Telugu Desam Party defeated the former chief minister, said Andhra Pradesh HRD minister Nara Lokesh.
He said in his post on social media platform X, “that the people have chosen progress over backwardness, and for the first time in 30 years, Pulivendula has taken part in a truly democratic election process.”
People had the chance to cast their vote freely, he said congratulating the winners in the local body elections, M. Latha Reddy and Krishna Reddy on their well-earned victory.
Another minister G Ravi Kumar said that people of his own constituency have lost trust in Jaganmohan Reddy and added this defeat is an indication of the extent of discontentment against him and his politics. It is also a vote for TDP’s commitment to development and welfare, he added.
The humiliating defeat on home turf bodes ill for the political future of Jaganmohan Reddy, who was decimated in the assembly elections held last year and did not even win enough seats to secure the position and status of the Leader of Opposition.
For the present, the TDP JSP and BJP combine – NDA – appears to be united, and if this alliance continues, it could even put it past Jagamohan Reddy in the family’s stronghold the 2029 assembly elections too. He has been a member of assembly from Pulivendula for the past over ten years.
Before that it was held by his father, YS Rajasekhara Reddy; his mother, YS Vijayammma; and other members of the family, including his uncle Y. S. Purushothama Reddy.
After the defeat, Jaganmohan Reddy charged the ruling party with electoral fraud and demanded fresh polls under the supervision of central authorities. He told reporters that booth agents of his party were forced to abandon their posts and people were bullied to vote forTDP.
He demanded the cancellation of the two elections, and asked that they be held again under the protection of central forces.
