Power To YSRCP, Amaravati Riddle Mark 2019

The Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) captured the power in AP with a landslide win. Its moves, some of them controversial, and the uncertainty over the future of the capital Amaravati dominated the events during 2019.

The YSRCP got 151 seats in the 175-member assembly and won 22 out of the 25 Lok Sabha seats, demolishing the opposition. The TDP managed to win just 23 assemblies and 3 Lok Sabha seats, while actor Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena failed to make an impression, winning just 1 assembly seat. Pawan Kalyan faced humiliation in both the assembly constituencies he contested from.

By beating Naidu, a leader with 40 years of experience in politics, Jagan Mohan Reddy fulfilled his long-cherished dream of becoming the CM. An 8-year long wait ended for the young leader as many voted for him as they saw Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, his father and mass leader in him, who served as the CM in undivided AP. Jagan took an exceptional step by naming 5 Deputy Chief Ministers, representing different sections of the society.

Taking a bold step, he started imposing alcohol prohibition in phases. Beginning with the closure of over 40,000 illegal liquor outlets and cutting down the number of shops and bars. He promised that in the final phase, liquor would be confined only to 5-star hotels.

The TDP blamed the Jagan government for the suicide of Rao by saying the implication charged over him was false. The YSRCP government not only overturned several decisions taken by the Naidu government but also targeted Naidu. Naidu was served a notice to vacate the house alleging that he was living in a house built illegally on the banks of the Krishna River.

CM ordered a review of all major projects, where there are accusations of anomalies in giving tenders during the TDP rule. He went for a process called 'reverse tendering' to save money to the public exchequer by giving fresh tenders to the lowest bidders.

All the construction work in the capital, envisioned as a world-class city by Naidu, came to a stop with Jagan deciding to review them. His allegation that Naidu and those close to him resorted to insider trading in Amaravati, by buying land at cheap rates before announcing the state capital and contradictory statements issued by his Ministers raised a question mark on the future of the capital city.

As the year draws to a close, 29 villages in Amaravati are on the boil, as they had given 33,000 acres of land for the capital in 2015 with the faith of a bright future, demanding that Jagan drop his proposal to develop 2 other state capitals.

While the Jagan government claims the 3 capitals idea is aimed at ensuring decentralized development. The Opposition believes that Jagan is doing this as Amaravati is Naidu's brainchild.

Jagan also scrapped the sand policy of the previous government and this coupled with floods led to the severe sand shortage, paralyzing the construction industry, especially in and around Amaravati. The suicides by 20+ construction workers due to lack of work for several weeks gave a chance to the depleted opposition to bounce back by launching public protests.

In another debated move, Jagan introduced English as the medium of teaching in all government-run schools, replacing Telugu and Urdu. The Opposition slammed him, especially the BJP, seeing it as a part of his plan to promote Christianity.

Jagan also reviewed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) signed with renewable power producers during the TDP rule. He argued that the state would have to bear the high cost of wind and solar power for 25 years. The new government also took an unprecedented step by reserving 75 percent of jobs in all industries for the locals.

The year also saw the Special CBI Court in Hyderabad dismissing Jagan's petition for exemption from personal appearance before the court during the hearings of the alleged illegal assets case.