The Modi Government has made it crystal clear time and again that there would be no question of giving special status to any State. Accordingly, the promise made to AP at the time of Reorganisation has been ignored conveniently. However, CM Jagan has made it an election issue in 2019 saying that Chandrababu Naidu failed to achieve special status. After coming to power, Jagan Reddy has said in the first few days itself that his Government would not be in a position to demand special status but however they would continue to demand the same from the Centre.

Now, the BJP has changed its policy overnight. It has made an election promise in the current Puducherry elections that the special status would be given to the State if the BJP comes to power. The question arose then as to why the long pending special status promise made to AP was not being fulfilled.

Whatever, the BJP might have sought electoral benefits in Puducherry. Back in AP, Jagan Reddy came under heavy pressure from the Opposition attack on the special status issue. The TDP is demanding CM Jagan to bring pressure on the Modi regime to confer special status.

At the same time, the YCP leaders have started counter attacks. They are asking why the TDP and the Jana Sena could not achieve special status though they worked together after the 2014 elections.

Several questions are cropping up on the increased religion based attack launched by the BJP AP leaders on CM Jaganmohan Reddy. Ahead of the Tirupati byelection, the BJP leaders have not hesitated to describe Jagan Reddy as ‘Yesu Babu’. If the same comment is made by a TDP leader or a social media activist, the CID would have filed cases against them by now. Both the YCP and the BJP are just making bitter remarks against each other but not going beyond that point.

The BJP central leadership has taken the Tirupati bypoll very seriously. It was against this backdrop that the BJP AP leaders are making aggressive comments against Jagan Reddy at a personal level. Now, the big question is why the Modi-Shah duo are not giving greater embarrassment to CM Jagan.

There are many CBI and ED cases in which the AP CM is prime accused. More than that, there is the YS Vivekananda Reddy murder case in which several doubts have cropped up. This is also being investigated by the CBI. Why the BJP is not taking advantage of these cases in order to corner Jagan Reddy and demoralise his party in Tirupati bypoll?

Analysts say that the BJP’s immediate aim is obviously to damage and demotivate Chandrababu Naidu in the Tirupati bypoll. Victory is not their target right now. As such, they will do everything to embarrass Naidu more than Jagan. The Yesu Babu comment is also divide Hindu voters in order to hurt the TDP.

The Congress and the BJP also joined hands with KCR and ran the Telangana agitation. They eventually took their sweet revenge against the Andhras. Now, not just KCR, even the BJP Telangana leaders were frequently interfering with the AP politics on the issues only convenient to them.

KCR has undoubtedly played some role behind the steps taken to harm the AP interests with respect to Polavaram, Amaravati and other projects. Later, BJP Telangana President Bandi Sanjay has commented that a Bible party is ruling in Andhra Pradesh and it is causing harm to the Hindus.

Now, BJP controversial Telangana MLA Raja Singh is saying that his party leaders in AP are being tortured by the Jagan Reddy regime. This is obviously being given as the reason why AP BJP leaders like Somu Veerraju, Vishnu Vardhan Reddy and others are not able to speak out aggressively against the ruling YCP. Raja Singh has said that cows were being transported from Kadapa and total villages altogether were being converted.

Both Bandi Sanjay and Raja Singh have said that they would come to campaign in AP if the national leadership orders them to do so. Interestingly, the BJP Telangana leaders are not explaining what kind of torture that the Jagan regime is giving to the BJP AP leaders. Except one or two minor incidents, there are no false cases, false arrests and major attacks on the BJP leaders even in the panchayat elections. The BJP’s political victim card may not prove useful in AP.