Craze for some always puzzle analysts. Many are under the impression that all celebrities enjoy equal amounts of stardom. However it is not true and following for some surprise even seasoned analysts and critics. 

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Coming to Telugu people and Telangana, Andhra Pradesh the names NTR and YSR spreads some magic around them and people start recollecting their deeds, whether in a negative or positive manner. Today everyone is paying tributes to YSR on his 7th death anniversary. 


NTR with his charm and towering personality mesmerised all with his performances on silver screen and later entered politics to create sensation. No leader matched NTR's fan following during 1980s-1990s but after his demise his own family members ignored and insulted him. This is the effect of Chandra Babu's coup to topple NTR. 

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This is not the case with YSR. Congress party in which YSR prospered may have disowned his son Jagan Mohan Reddy, but never disowned the services of YSR. True that in order to tarnish Jagan, disowned some of the GOs passed by YSR as CM. 


But YSR's growth in Congress itself is a sensation as he started his career as a rebel and known dissident before becoming mass leader and then leading the party twice to massive electoral victories enabling it to form two successive governments at Centre. 

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YSR famously quoted “I’ve adopted 'take it easy' policy,” when asked what strategy he was going to adopt against NTR in 1994 when NTR's TDP looked to sweep AP. During that time Prabhu Deva's song 'Take it easy policy' from Premikudu turned out to be chartbuster and everyone used to play the song. 

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YSR was branded 'Permanent Dissident' in  Congress and no one supported or fought for his cause in the faction ridden party. Various factions worked against him and kept him out of CM race in 1992 and  Vijay Bhaskar Reddy went on to replace N Janardhan Reddy, who was made to step down by the “high command”, as CM. Once he even quit Congress and started his own party naming it as Reddy party.


YSR out of desperation launched his battle inside and outside his party to become mass leader. Though hated in the Congress by various sections, people of Kadapa loved him to the core. He was hailed as Puli (Tiger) in Rayalaseema and apt for him as he came from Pulivendula. 


YSR’s father Raja Reddy had a fearsome reputation as a faction leader. Raja Reddy was axed to death some years later, dying in the same gory manner that many of his enemies had done earlier in the spiral of factional violence that Rayalaseema districts were notorious for. Faction politics played important role than the faithfulness to the party. 


People knew that YSR was behind Mysoora Reddy's defeat and not NTR wave in 1994 assembly elections. Mysoora Reddy defected to TDP and became Minister for sometime before YSR came to power. 


YSR never lost an election as an MP (four consecutive times) because Kadappa was seen as his pocketborough and when he switched to fight as an MLA (he won six times), his brother Vivekananda Reddy kept the seat warm till recently when Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSR’s son, was elected. 


PV.Narasimha Rao, former PM too was responsible for marginalising YSR in the party. But all that changed in 2003. His 1400KM pathbreaking padayatra in the backward districts of AP in over 45 degrees celcius temperatures propelled him to power. During Padayatra he vowed to come back to power or else take political sanyas. Though he failed in his first attempt in 1999, he emerged successful in 2004. 


He halted his padayatra only for few days on advice of doctors due to sun stroke and Padayatra turned out to be masterstroke as it dislodged CEO of AP , Chandra Babu Naidu. Congress party itself is not in good shape with  youth Congress goons vandalizing Gandhi Bhavan, the headquarters of the Congress. 


YSR used to be aggressive and hyper active while attacking his opponents when he was a dissident and in opposition but he mellowed when he came to power. He was impatient with party High Command during PV.Narasimha Rao,Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy's time, but insiders say PV.Narasimha Rao softened him to bide his time. 

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YSR tried tackling naxal problem by holding talks and also taking development activities in rural areas. He launched various welfare programmes and irrigation schemes in a state which had witnessed unprecedented farmer suicides before he came to power.

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He reached out to various factions during his padayatra but many allegations came that his regime in AP led to more bloodshed than anyother politician. YSR with populist schemes became first Congress CM to complete five year term and also retain power. YSR influenced Congress High Command and Sonia Gandhi so much that even during Telangana agitation, it decided to part ways with KCR's TRS. YSR's popularity grew when Congress won seven seats in Telangana byelections in 2008. 

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Even in 2009 elections, despite Chiranjeevi entering politics and launched Praja Rajyam, Sonia Gandhi trusted YSR and went alone. YSR came with thumping majority by singlehandedly touring 174 constituencies out of 294 assembly constituencies in AP. 


He popularity increased with  welfare schemes like permanent housing, monthly pension and health insurance for the poor while on the other hand he was the constant target of opposition over charges of corruption, nepotism and abuse of power.



మరింత సమాచారం తెలుసుకోండి:

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Prasad Geeta

02/09/2016 11:47 AM