Has Chandrababu Naidu taken a leaf out of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Praja Sankalpa Yatra? It appears so. The way Chandrababu Naidu is planning and executing the “Badude Badudu” reminds one of Jagan yatra ahead of the 2019 elections. Chandrababu Naidu is applying the same tricks of trade that Jagan employed to win the minds and hearts of the people.
Take for instance, his assurance to the supporters that he would “cut the tails” of the psychos. He termed the YSRCP cadres and leaders as psychos and told the people that he would cut them to size once he came to power. This is very similar to Jagan’s “Nenu Unnanu… Nenu Vinnanu” idea. During his yatra, Jagan used to tell the people that once he came to power, he would set things right.
In Tallavalasa village of Srikakulam district, Chandrababu Naidu distributed candles, matchboxes and hand fans to the people. The idea was to highlight the frequent power outages during the summer. He also held separate meetings with women, the unemployed and the traditional artisans. This again is a trick that Jagan employed during his Praja Sankalpa Yatra. The move to distribute candles and fans would help send the right message to the voters and turn them against the government.
En route Bhimili, he made a brief stopover at a tea shop and struck a conversation with the people around. This is the typical “chai pe charcha” model. Chandrababu is never known to eat meals or drink tea in public. But, this time he made a departure and talked about power cuts, lack of government help and leakage of question papers with the bystander. All these were the things that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy did during his Praja Sankalpa Yatra.
He is also ensuring that his actions get wide coverage in the media. This will be used to whip up a frenzy in his support. Observers say that he may even write a daily tour diary like the way both YSR and YS Jagan did during their padayatra.
