Jagan Reddy Accuses Andhra Pradesh Government of Blocking Free Local Body Polls

YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused the ruling coalition in Andhra Pradesh of making free local body elections impossible, alleging that state machinery is being deployed against opposition parties.

Speaking at Tadepalli on Wednesday to senior party leaders and key functionaries from Greater Visakhapatnam, he pointed to the recent change of Mayor as evidence of how the government treats local bodies. He further alleged that police were being used against YSRCP leaders and workers, and instructed the cadre to maintain a "digital diary" recording instances of police excesses.

Mr. Reddy said the party would stand behind its workers and that the cadre would be given greater importance under what he described as the "Jagan 2.0" regime.

Turning to Visakhapatnam, he alleged that the coalition government was looting the city and flagged concerns over land, water supply and development. He claimed that 55 acres linked to GITAM University, which he valued at ₹5,000 crore, had been encroached upon and handed to people favoured by the ruling establishment.

On the city's water shortage, he drew a connection to the Polavaram project, stating that maintaining the project height at 45.72 metres would allow an additional 75 tmc ft of water to be stored, and that the reduced height had affected water availability in Visakhapatnam.

The former Chief Minister also claimed that his government had delivered on 99% of its election manifesto and contrasted that record with the coalition's performance. Among the initiatives he cited were the Nadu-Nedu programme, English-medium instruction, bilingual textbooks, digital boards, tablets for students from Class VIII and TOEFL training from Class III in education.

In healthcare, he pointed to the expansion of Aarogyasri coverage from 1,000 to 3,300 procedures and an increase in the coverage limit to ₹25 lakh. In agriculture, he listed the establishment of Rythu Bharosa Kendras and village secretariats, the e-crop system, free crop insurance and the use of the CM-App for procurement when farmers did not receive remunerative prices.