Ever since BRS lost the Telangana Elections, there has been a discussion about what prompted the change of Power. One of the prime reasons cited is not changing the sitting MLAs who were facing severe anti-incumbency.
And then, there is news that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is changing around 100 MLA candidates to counter that factor. In the first trench, he announced eleven new in charges.
That has propelled a new discussion about whether changing the candidates is good or bad.
The issue is a double-edged sword.
If there is anti-incumbency over the sitting MLAs, obviously public will vote against the candidate. The 2019 elections happened in Jagan’s name. People voted for Jagan irrespective of the candidates. But 2024 is going to be different.
It will be like any other election and candidates will also play a big role in this election. So, changing candidates is inevitable.
But then, it can also backfire.
The ousted MLAs will not sit idle. In these five years, they have earned money and muscle. They will not co-operate with the candidates and will also work against the party defeating the purpose of the election.
This is not going to be a wave election like 2014 and there is a significant amount of anti-incumbency on Jagan.
That was clearly visible in the MLC elections that happened earlier this year.
So, both – changing the candidates and not changing candidates are risky. The risk goes higher for the ruling party that is battling anti-incumbency.
We will have to see how this will pan out for YSR Congress in 2024.
