Will Jagan Get Sympathy If Arrested?

Former CMO Secretary and retired IAS officer K. Dhanunjaya Reddy and OSD Krishnamohan Reddy, close associates of former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, were arrested by the SIT in connection with the Liquor Scam.

Dhanunjaya Reddy was the Number One in AP CMO between 2019 and 2024, while Krishnamohan Reddy is Number Two. They called the shots in the party and the Government in those five years.

If they were arrested, that means APCID reached the doorstep of the Tadepalli Palace. From here, it is only a matter of time before Jagan gets arrested in this case.

It is more of a Political Decision to arrest Jagan or not.

In Indian Politics and in Telugu Politics, there is a common belief that leaders will get Sympathy if arrested and will win the subsequent elections.

We have seen Revanth Reddy become the Chief Minister, and he was previously arrested in the Cash for Vote case.

Chandrababu Naidu was in jail for 52 days in the Skill Development Case and became the Chief Minister in the subsequent election.

It is a belief that people feel sympathy with arrested leaders and tend to vote for them.

Jagan Mohan Reddy spent sixteen months in jail and won the by-elections that came while he was in jail. But YSR Congress was confined to the Opposition in the 2014 elections. Even Jagan’s mother lost in that election.

Bifurcation became a major issue rather than sentiment or whatsoever in that election.

In 2015, Revanth Reddy spent 16 days in jail in the Cash for Vote Case. In 2018, there was no impact of the arrest or sympathy whatsoever, and Congress was confined only to the Opposition.

Revanth himself lost from Kodangal seat in 2018 but won as the MP from Malkajgiri in the 2019 General Elections.

It was only Chandrababu Naidu who became the CM in the subsequent election after his arrest.

If Jagan Mohan Reddy is arrested in this case, that means he will be in jail for four years before the next election.

If there is so much of a gap between the arrest and the election, it appears like there is no impact whatsoever.

So, Chandrababu Naidu will consider that factor if he decides to send Jagan Mohan Reddy to jail.

When Jagan was arrested in 2012, his mother, Vijaya Lakshmi, and sister Sharmila steered the party. Now, Jagan even drove them away. So, there will be no one to lead the party.

The party is on a ventilator due to the recent defeat and various other problems. Winning only eleven seats is a big morale crusher. If there is no one guide, the party will struggle big time. Probably, that is the plan of Lokesh.