As the general elections are fast-approaching, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is pushing his legislators and leaders to hit the ground, and suggesting them to perform or perish.
As about 30 to 40 sitting MLAs haven’t rolled up their sleeves, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy is said to have decided to replace them, and give chance to new faces in the 2024 elections to avoid negative impact on the party’s poll prospects.
After the launch of the ‘Gadapa Gadapaku Mana Prabhutvam’, a mass outreach programme, in June, about 70 MLAs were found to be non-performers. Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had then cautioned and advised them to rise to the occasion.
The ‘Jagananna Suraksha’ programme, another mass contact initiative of the government, turned out to be a ‘do or die’ situation for the underperforming MLAs, who failed to mingle with the people and take the cadre along.
Two months ago, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy put the MLAs, who included a couple of Ministers, and the district coordinators on notice after finding that their performance in bringing awareness about the government’s welfare schemes and initiatives among the people was not up to the mark. He had warned them that they would be dropped if their performance did not improve.
While a few legislators improved their performance, a few others were yet to fall in line. “The number of non-performers has come down considerably. But some are yet to meet the standards set by Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy. In all, 30 to 40 MLAs are likely to be dropped,” according to sources close to Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has been assuring that those not being given a ticket will not be dumped altogether, but will be accommodated in suitable positions, says a senior leader.
“The party is only changing the candidates so that it won’t impact the party’s prospects. The leadership is not against any MLA. Our chances of retaining power are bright, and we don’t want to mar the prospects at this stage,” he says.
Unlike the four suspended MLAs — Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Kotamreddy Sreedhar Reddy, Mekapati Chandrasekhar Reddy and U. Sreedevi, the majority of the MLAs are falling in line, he explains.
The party has conducted various surveys on the performance of the MLAs and their participation in the outreach programmes. “The extent to which they are able to mingle with the people has been one of the parameters for rating the MLAs’ performance. This apart, the party is also considering whether the legislators are maintaining good relations with the second-rung leaders. As the performance of some 30 to 40 sitting MLAs is not satisfactory, the party has decided not to field them,” the senior leader says.
