The former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, recently said that he would not be attending the Legislative Assembly sessions as he had not been accorded the Leader of the Opposition status. Jagan, a Member of the Legislative Assembly from Pulivendula constituency, informed the press that he would instead interact with the ‘neutral’ media to convey his stand on important policy matters.
This is not the first time politicians of his stature have openly boycotted Assemblies. Recently, the current CM of Andhra Pradesh and the former leader of the opposition, Chandrababu Naidu, also boycotted the Assembly and vowed to attend it only when he became the CM again. In neighbouring Telangana, though there was no open declaration, former CM K Chandrashekar Rao, who won from the Gajwel constituency in the last Assembly polls in December 2023, did not attend any of the three Assembly sessions till date. He came to the Assembly on the day of the budget but did not participate in any discussion on the floor. One may also recall how the former CM of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa, vowed to return to the Assembly only as the Chief Minister after she was attacked and insulted on the floor of the House.