YSRCP in Kuppam: Underestimating Naidu?

Telugu Desam Party has received a setback in Chandrababu Naidu‘s Kuppam. Ruling YSR Congress won majority panchayats in Naidu’s bastion. YSR Congress has been targeting Kuppam ever since it came to power and finally succeeded in doing that.

There is certainly room for retrospection for TDP but history says these things are not as serious as they appear. Jagan’s mother, Vijayamma lost from the Vishakapatnam Lok Sabha segment in the 2014 election. Jagan’s uncle, YS Vivekananda Reddy lost in the MLC election while TDP is in power.

At one stage after that election, TDP supporters even fancied their chances in Pulivendula, the forte of the YS family. We know what happened later. We have seen YSR Congress sweeping the entire Kadapa district and even the entire Rayalaseema in the next election in just a couple of years.

Local elections victories are mere tokenism for Ruling Parties. YSR Congress and mainly Minister Peddireddy have taken Kuppam seriously and reaped dividends. The ruling party has used all the tricks in the trade to win these elections. With three years of power still left, naturally, the ruling party will have an advantage. This setback should alert Chandrababu and make him plug leakages if any. A constituency where Naidu smiled seven times on a trot can not be lost easily.