Jagan, the rising star of Seemandhra!

At a time when fight against corruption is the principal theme of most parties, it is ironical that a person who spent 16 months in jail on serious corruption charges leads the popularity chart in Seemandhra, and is widely seen as a dominant player in the region.

The 41-year-old industrialist-turned-politician, who faces a case slapped against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with his alleged illegal assets, enjoys mass support with his road shows evoking huge response across Seemandhra. He is leading the race for the chief minister’s post in the new residuary state of Andhra Pradesh which will come into existence on June 2.

Jagan himself, however, brushes aside the campaign launched by his detractors’ focusing on his alleged dubious business deals. “They are all trumped up charges. I have been framed in a false and politically-motivated case. If I had continued in Congress, I would not have faced any case,” the YSRC president contends.

Jagan’s rise in politics itself makes interesting study, since not many outside Andhra Pradesh had heard of him till news channels beamed the images of a grieving young man receiving mourners with folded hands on the day his father’s charred body arrived in Hyderabad on September 3, 2009.

Till then, he was a businessman on a roll, receiving generous patronage from his doting father. From a small-time realtor, who used to occasionally help his father during poll campaigns, to a high-profile industrialist with interests in power, infrastructure, cement and media sectors, his rise had been phenomenal. So was his tryst with controversies. The growth of his business empire was only matched by the brazenness of his political ambitions. Jagan quit Congress and floated his own party in March 2011 after his bid for the chief minister’s post was rejected by the party high command. He has since positioned himself as the sole inheritor of YSR’s political legacy. A string of populist and pro-poor schemes, including free power for farmers, health insurance scheme, fee reimbursement and weaker section housing, had created an aura around YSR.

By promising to bring in “Rajanna Rajyam” (welfare state as envisioned by YSR), the YSRC is projecting itself as the true inheritor of the former chief minister’s political legacy.

But what is it that attracts people, particularly the youth, to Jagan? His aggressive style, personal touch to campaigning and a carefully-cultivated pro-poor, pro-welfare image count a lot. His party is also banking heavily on public sympathy for Jagan’s father late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy who died in a helicopter crash in September 2009. The young member of parliament (MP), who represents Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency in the outgoing parliament, strategically positioned himself as the champion of united Andhra Pradesh by taking an unambiguous stand against the division of the state. In fact, it was the first party to ask all its legislators to quit en mass in protest against the creation of separate Telangana state. The move may have cost the party dearly in Telangana where it is seen as an “enemy of Telangana cause,” but it now hopes to tap into the public anger sweeping across Seemandhra over the bifurcation.

The party has had a head start in the campaign in Seemandhra, promising a string of populist schemes including free education for poor children, loan waiver for women self-help groups, health insurance scheme, subsidized power at Rs100 for 150 units of consumption per month and stabilization fund for farmers. It has also promised to build an ultra-modern capital city for Seemandhra by roping in international consultants.

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