Not every leader or politician can take a bold stand on many things. But a leader who takes such decisions stands apart from the crowd. In this regard, we can definitely quote the example of Jagan Mohan Reddy. Had Jagan reconciled with Congress high command, he would have definitely become a Union Minister, according to open comments made by senior congress leaders many years ago. However, he chose a different path.
If Jagan had made this big compromise, then it is also an open fact that he would have not faced any CBI cases. He knew there would be a witch hunt against him but still he had chosen to follow a separate path and despite jail term and other challenges, he set a new trend.Late leader Shobha Nagi Reddy said in 2014 that had Jagan given the promise of farm loan waiver, he would have easily come to power but he didn’t want to give a promise that he cannot fulfill. This led to a slender margin of votes for TDP.
Now, it is the turn of next assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh where Jagan had clearly decided to go full throttle against opposition and establish himself as an undisputed leader of Andhra. In this regard, he has recently warned underperforming MLAs and ministers to buck up, win people’s confidence or else risk the loss of tickets to contest elections. Not everyone can be so forthcoming about MLA’s performance report, but Jagan has been clear about how to call a spade, a spade.
He has also dropped clear indication that after March, he will start finalizing the candidates for elections and announce who will get the tickets. Much before elections, this is an exercise fraught with risk because it may consolidate any group infighting particularly since there will be many groups in every segment for a ruling party.
Jagan didn’t mince his words and if his confidence is to go by, he may announce most candidates much before the opposition and throw an open challenge. His rivals feel it may be a big risk and even laugh about it, but Jagan is always different and will continue to be different. Therefore, one can expect political heat to become more intense and there may be pressure even from opposition leaders on their bosses to finalize who will take on Jagan’s choice in every segment.
