YSR Congress president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy may not require the help of poll strategist Prashant Kishore for the 2024 general elections. Jagan took the help of Prashant Kishore for two subsequent elections – 2014 and 2019. While he could not make it to win the first election, the second election was a record.

Having worked with Prashant Kishore for two elections, Jagan Mohan Reddy seems to have become master in election strategy. Also being in power for three years too had come handy for the YSR Congress chief to plan the next election on his own.

Jagan Mohan Reddy seems to have learned the tricks of the trade and is all set to go alone in the next round of elections. Besides his own learning, Jagan Mohan Reddy is also not happy with Prashant Kishore working for the Congress in national politics. As if this is not enough, Prashant Kishore’s former colleagues are now working with the TDP in Andhra Pradesh politics.

With all these issues before him, Jagan Mohan Reddy is understood to have decided to go alone, without hiring the services of Prashant Kishore. Interestingly, at least half-a-dozen persons who worked with Prashant Kishore in the past are now directly working with Jagan in his back office.

Jagan Mohan Reddy is marketing his welfare schemes and the direct benefit transfer (DBT) programme about which he had become a master in the last three years. He had successfully implemented all the cash transfer schemes to the people in the last three years, despite the Covid 19 pandemic.

People in the grassroots are happy with his cash schemes particularly at a time when there was no work due to lockdown. Even now, though the work places are open there are a lot of restrictions leading to a reduction in the number of workers everywhere.

Besides people, more economists, like Amartya Sen have favoured the cash transfer programmes by the government as that would keep the market vibrant. Considering all these, Jagan Mohan Reddy is understood to have decided to keep Prashant Kishore aside and go for the next round of elections. It is to be seen whether he would be able to meet his ambitious plan of winning more than the 151 number that he had won in the last elections.

AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is working hard to erase the image of his being pro-Christian. Jagan, who has already begun preparing for the 2024 elections, realised the need to project a pro-Hindu image. As part of it, he has recently visited various temples like Tirupati. The latest in this strategy is his visit to the famed Ganapathi Sachidananda Ashram in Vijayawada.

Jagan will be paying a visit to the Ashram on Monday. He would reach the Ashram at about 10.30 and would interact with Sri Ganapathi Satchidananda. He would also offer prayers at the temple in the ashramam. He would spend around one hour in the ashramam before leaving for his Tadepalli residence. The district administration is making the arrangement for the visit of the Chief Minister.

Jagan has been in the line of fire for the spate of attacks on the temples in the state. Both the TDP and the BJP have attacked the government for its failure to protest the temples in the state. Also, there are allegations that Christian conversions are on the rise in the state ever since Jagan came to power. To erase all this, YS Jagan has begun temple-hopping. His visit to Satchidananda Ashram is being viewed in this contest.

It may be recalled that Prashant Kishor has advised Mamta Banerjee in West Bengal, Stalin in Tamil Nadu and Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi to promote soft Hindutva to win the elections. As part of it, Mamta Banerjee began reciting Chandipath, Stalin visited Murugan temples and held Murugan’s weapon Vel in his hands, while Kejriwal recited Hanuman Chalisa. Jagan’s temple visit and Seer-meeting spree is also being seen as the part of Prashant Kishor strategy.