The ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) will fight alone and will not go for any alliances in the 2024 elections, says the government adviser (Public Affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy.
In an exclusive interaction with The Hindu at his camp office here, Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said that the party’s flagship welfare schemes (Navaratnalu) and social engineering, through which a sizeable number of BCs, SCs and STs and minorities were accommodated in the government, will ensure victory.
The DNA of the YSRCP is different and it does not include indirect fights, alliances and related strategies, says Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy. “Unlike the other parties, we believe in a straight fight. Given the straight forward nature of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, our party is not inclined towards forging any tie-up with any other party. Parties like the TDP have tie-ups as a necessary strategy to win polls which is not the case with us,” he adds.
He also rules out any possibility of early polls or a tie-up with the BJP. “We continue to enjoy people’s confidence and we will complete the full tenure. The TDP is apparently in a hurry and longs for early polls. The relationship between the State government and the Centre is good, cordial, positive and comfortable. Our Chief Minister is very good at maintaining the relationship with the Centre and it is our strength. But as we know, politics is different, especially in a politically active State like A.P.,” he says.
Welfare
The Navaratnalu welfare programmes and the social engineering in allocating ministerial berths and other key positions in the government to the backward classes and the downtrodden are showing a positive impact, according to him. “We will comfortably sail through the polls. Moreover, our comparison is only with the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government led by Nara Chandrababu Naidu who had mismanaged the opportunity given to him post bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. On top of it, he poached into our leaders which was of no use. And going by any standard, we are performing far better than the TDP,” he maintains.
The revolutionary infrastructural changes in education and health through which the government is augmenting schools and health infrastructure with new equipment, introduction of English medium in government schools, better delivery mechanism through village secretariat system and new buildings for the Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) etc. are perceived to be successful, he says.
However, the party’s maiden government is faced with a major challenge in the form of finances, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The whole world is impacted and so are we as part of the economic structure. But for the pandemic, we are comfortable with finances to support the welfare schemes. About ₹50,000 crore needed for welfare is not a problem as it is budgeted and sustainable. Despite COVID-19 and its economic impact, we are pulling on. It is a challenge but we are largely successful owing to efficient financial planning, including programmes such as reverse tendering,” observes Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy.
As per an estimate, over three crore families were positively impacted by some welfare programme or the other in the State and the government believes that it could be a major strength in ensuring victory in the forthcoming polls.
Investments
On the investment front, the State has several proposals to clear. There has been an impact on the investment scenario due to COVID-19 but there are major investments lined up in the area of ports and related infrastructure, road networks and IT sector. “Ports and related infrastructure will attract a major portion of investment and we see development happening in those lines,” says the government adviser.
