With Jagan in jail, can Vijayamma-Sharmila fight to the finish?

by TS Sudhir In December 1995, on the eve of Lakshmi Parvathi’s maiden public appearance at a meeting in Madanapalle, her doting husband, NT Rama Rao, a veteran public performer, was giving her detailed instructions as though he were preparing her to take her screen test. I, a young reporter, daunted by tales of the infamous NTR temper, watched  silently, as NTR gave her tips on what to say and how to say it. NTR had been dethroned by Chandrababu Naidu in August that year and he wanted his wife to make a splash politically. That meeting in Chittoor district was to be her debut. In sharp contrast is Vijayalakshmi, YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s mother. As she tours the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema constituencies that go to polls on June 12, the consensus on the street is unanimous. Vijayamma, as a public speaker, is inarticulate and almost inaudible, and therefore unable to stir the neutral voter to feel sympathetic for what her son is going through. [caption id=“attachment_335116” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Vijaylakshmi and Sharmila campaigning on 30 May. PTI”]  [/caption] The content of her speak also left many squirming. On the night Jagan was arrested, she took the battle to Sonia Gandhi, asking if  “only her son (Rahul Gandhi) should become PM while her son (Jagan) should go to jail’’ reminding people of September 2009, when Jagan made an unsuccessful bid to succeed his late father as chief minister. In her speeches, she has been harping more on the alleged “suspicious nature’’ of YSR’s death, introducing new elements into a wild conspiracy theory. It has given the Congress a handle to attack her directly, terming her irresponsible. And the voters are wondering if Vijayamma’s desperation with regard to this make-or-break election for Jagan is showing. It is perhaps with this mind that Jagan asked his sister Sharmila to accompany their mother on the campaign trail. If the response of the crowds is anything to go by, Sharmila has been a hit. She introduces herself as Rajanna’s daughter and Jagan’s sister, whose family has been wronged by the Congress and asks the people to vote for YSR Congress to give their verdict on what has been happening in Andhra Pradesh. Sample this. “TDP and the Congress considered YSR Congress a threat because of the high possibility of our winning and therefore have taken away Jagan-anna from you people. TDP and Congress are hatching a plan with the help of CBI because they don’t want YSR Congress to win. My mother lost her husband and her son is put behind bars and since she can approach no one seeking help, she stands before you asking for justice.’’ The entry of a new face on the political horizon has excited most, with pundits making obvious comparisons with the Rahul-Priyanka duo. Sharmila, with her YSR-like natural charm, is already being called the Priyanka Gandhi of the YSR Congress. But despite the positive response to her on the campaign trail, Sharmila’s is more likely to be a guest appearance. Unlike even a Vijayamma, who has contested an election and is now an MLA, Sharmila is merely playing a part, filling in for her brother in the short-term. The mother-daughter starrer is working at the moment because it is almost like a family drama being played out in the Andhra Pradesh political theatre. While Vijayamma with folded hands, attempts to pull at the heartstrings of the elderly women voters, Sharmila communicates with the youth. But will the duo be able to effectively fill the void created by Jagan’s absence? Will the crowds translate into votes, is the nagging question. Huge crowds are no stranger to those tracking Andhra Pradesh politics. Lakshmi Parvathi drew a fantastic response in 1996 but came a cropper in the elections, with no sympathy generated after NTR’s demise. Similarly, megastar Chiranjeevi made his political debut in Tirupati amidst a sea of humanity but got no more than 18 assembly seats in the elections the following year. Before Jagan’s arrest, YSR Congress leaders were confident that if the CBI touched their leader, it would transform into a sweep for the party in the by polls. They still talk of winning a majority of the seats but not by the kind of margins they predicted earlier. That’s because Jagan’s transformation into prisoner number 6093 inside Chanchalguda Central Prison in Hyderabad isn’t quite having the desired effect among undecided voters. Yes, the committed YSR Congress voter is unhappy over Jagan’s condition and will vote for his candidates. But the high decibel Congress and TDP campaign against Jagan’s alleged corruption is making the educated voter think twice. And the section of the print and electronic media, that is openly hostile to Jagan, is ensuring stories on Jagan’s suspicious business deals continue to be splashed on the front page and dominate headlines. But what Sharmila and Vijayamma’s presence did was to ensure the one-man party’s campaign did not come to a grinding halt after Jagan’s arrest. But hear their speeches closely and you will realise they lack political content. It is a `my family has been wronged, I need justice from you’ line that is being delivered meeting after meeting. There is no talk of people’s problems, leave alone promising solutions to agricultural, weaver or community issues. Only Rajanna (YSR) Rajyam is promised, the same rajyam that a Chandrababu Naidu and a Kiran Kumar Reddy from a neighbouring podium rubbish as corrupt. Two, the lack of an organised cadre is beginning to hurt. The one-day bandh called by the party, a day after Jagan’s arrest was a damp squib because there was no cadre to `implement’ the bandh. Also the candidates are working only for the mother-daughter duo. So while Vijayamma-Sharmila’s road shows are attracting good crowds, campaigns by other leaders like actor Roja have been a damp squib, proving the party is essentially an extension of the family. Yesterday Jagan moved the Andhra Pradesh High court seeking permission to canvass from jail, using the print and electronic media. Is it an admission that things have not quite gone according to plan, especially with the Congress unleashing its own brand of woman power against the YSR Congress duo, in the form of Renuka Chowdhary and Purandareswari? In a strange way, it is a case of Ladies First in this episode of Andhra Pradesh politics.