On Friday, MLA Jogi Ramesh’s violent protests in front of Chandrababu Naidu’s residence in Amaravati hogged the headlines. But at the end of the day, it was clear that despite the abusive comments of Ayyanna Patrudu, the TDP managed to play the victim card efficiently and the YSRCP looked every inch an aggressor. It is clear that the YSRCP has to learn a lesson or two in managing public perception.
The protest by Jogi Ramesh at Chandrababu’s residence in Amaravati actually turned counter-productive for the party. Firstly, in protest against Jogi’s demonstration, the TDP cadres across the state were galvanised and they staged protests everywhere. They not only painted the YSRCP in the black, they also managed to show the ruling party as an aggressor.
Quite interestingly, only Jogi Ramesh organised a protest over Ayyanna Patrudu’s comments. The remaining leaders of the YSRCP were largely silent. They were no counter agitations from the party cadre anywhere else. This showed that the YSRCP cadres were disinterested in the whole issue and that there is certain kind of sullenness in the party. The cadre is beginning to feel that only a handful of people were benefiting from the YS Jagan rule and they were being used only as foot soldiers. This incident exposed this chink in the YSRCP armour.
More importantly, the question began to be asked as to why only Jogi Ramesh was reacting. The general feeling was that he was angling for a ministry and he did all this to curry Jagan’s favour. Thus the YSRCP has actually ended up losing the perception battle with this protest of Jogi Ramesh. There is a general feeling that the YSRCP should plan its protests in a more coordinated way.
