Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy urged party cadres to prepare for the 2024 Assembly elections, at a meeting of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) representatives on Monday, October 9. He announced that the YSRCP would unveil its election manifesto in February 2024. Addressing about 8,500 party cadres at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium in Vijayawada, Jagan urged them to prepare for the upcoming Assembly elections and counter opposition parties' negative campaigns against the YSRCP government.
Apprising the party cadre of election preparations, Jagan told them to engage with voters and communicate the party's vision. He announced that several campaigns and government programmes will be launched in the upcoming months — ‘Jagananna Aarogya Suraksha’ from September 30 to November 1, ‘Why AP Needs Jagan’ from November 1 to December 10, and ‘Aadudham Andhra’ from December 11 to January 15. Additionally, leaders representing various communities and regions will embark on a ‘YSRCP Bus Yatra’ across the state from October 25 to December 31.
This will be followed by the disbursal of three ongoing welfare schemes of the YSRCP government – YSR Pension Kanuka (social security pensions), YSR Cheyutha (financial assistance for women aged 45 to 60 from weaker socio-economic background) and YSR Aasara (reimbursement of Self-Help Groups’ bank loans).
Read: Free bus rides for women, unemployment stipend in TDP’s manifesto for 2024 AP polls
During his speech, CM Jagan emphasised his government’s initiatives such as the village-level secretariat system, various welfare programs, and plans of decentralising administration through three capitals. However, in 2021, the YSRCP government withdrew its contentious Bills on the trifurcation of the state capital into three — Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Kurnool – a year after introducing them. The state Cabinet recently decided that the capital will shift from Amaravati to Vizag by Dasara this year, which falls on October 24.
At the meeting on Monday, Jagan claimed that the YSRCP government has fulfilled 99% of the party's 2019 manifesto promises. “Some MLAs had initially expressed discontent with the ‘Gadapa Gadapaku Mana Prabhuthvam’ (doorstep governance program to create awareness about government policies and schemes). However, the same MLAs now have smiles on their faces after seeing the positive impact of our government's initiatives, which have reached every household and village,” Jagan said. He also urged the party cadres to channel this enthusiasm and replicate their success across all 175 Assembly constituencies.
Jagan criticised TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, who is currently lodged at the Rajahmundry Central Prison in connection with the alleged skill development scam, saying he lacks credibility. “There won't be much difference if Naidu is in jail or outside… Naidu's arrest is not political vengeance. I was in London at the time, not in India. The court has remanded him based on evidence and the opposition is propagating lies,” Jagan claimed.
Jagan also strongly criticised the JSP-TDP alliance and said, “Even if two or four zeros align, the result remains a significant zero.