During the ongoing election campaign in Andhra Pradesh, Prime Minister Modi participated in a large-scale public gathering alongside Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan yesterday. While Naidu and Kalyan directed their criticism towards Jagan Mohan Reddy as expected, PM Modi adopted a more preemptive approach. While he did make anti-incumbency remarks that may have ruffled feathers within the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), he refrained from directly targeting Jagan Mohan Reddy himself.
PM Modi criticized the YSRCP-led government, noting the lack of progress in Andhra Pradesh over the past five years compared to the advancements made under Chandrababu Naidu’s leadership. Specifically, he highlighted the failure to complete the Polavaram project. While his critique focused squarely on the government led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, he deliberately avoided mentioning Jagan’s name throughout his extensive speech.
It’s worth noting that this is not the first instance of PM Modi refraining from directly attacking Jagan Mohan Reddy. Even during his previous visit to Andhra Pradesh last month, he maintained a similar approach.
While PM Modi’s criticism of the YSRCP government’s policies and administrative shortcomings may be politically strategic, some observers argue that a more targeted critique of Jagan Mohan Reddy himself would have been necessary to dispel the perception that the BJP is tacitly supporting him. However, PM Modi did not make any such efforts in this regard during his recent address.
