'Where has love and affection gone?’ Confused Jagan questions impact of welfare schemes

Amaravati: “I never thought the people would give such a mandate to the YSRCP government despite receiving several welfare schemes in the last five years,” said caretaker chief minister and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Jagan submitted his resignation with the governor S Abdul Nazir on Tuesday evening after the results of the 2024 AP Assembly polls gave a wide margin of victory for the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance and unseated the incumbent State government. Nazir accepted the resignation of YS Jagan and asked him to serve as care-taker chief minister for the state untill Chandrababu Naidu took oath as the chief minister.

Be it Ammavodi, YSR Cheyuta, pensions for elderly people or the ASARA scheme, every scheme was implemented with the intention of improving the living standards of the people in the state. Around Rs 2.6 lakh crores was credited into the bank accounts of beneficiaries in the last five years for various schemes.

The chief minister also said that the YSRCP had given utmost priority to women's empowerment and social justice. “I don’t know what happened to the votes of women who received Amma Vodi aid, pensions for elderly people and women Self-Help Groups (SHGs),” Jagan said.

Almost after five years, YS Jagan spoke to the media for the first time on Tuesday after facing a severe debacle in both the Assembly and Parliament seats in the state.

‘I will bounce back’

Addressing a press conference at his residence in Tadepalli, YS Jagan said, “I am ready to face any challenge. My political career is not a cakewalk, I have faced several problems. It’s not new for me to stay in the opposition, except for the last five years (2019-2024) in power I was in the opposition earlier. I don’t know what happened. However, the TDP-JSP-BJP failed to reduce my vote bank share of 40 per cent in the state. I will definitely bounce back and the YSRCP will become the voice of the voiceless and stand behind the poor and raise the voice.”

Jagan said that it was the YSR Congress Party government which brought the entire administration to the doorsteps of the public in the state.

“What happened to the revolutionary changes brought in the education, health and farming sectors in the state? Be it ‘Nadu-Nedu’ in schools and hospitals and the establishment of Rythu Bharosa, free nine-hour power supply, free insurance and timely payment of input subsidy to the farmers. Crores of people have benefited through the schemes. Where has their love and affection gone?” the chief minister asked.

‘YSCRP welfare schemes reached everyone’

The YSRCP president said that not only women, elderly people and farmers, but even petty vendors, auto-rickshaw drivers, fishermen, tailors and weavers benefited through various welfare schemes which were never given to them by the previous governments.

“We take poll manifestos as Bible, Quaran and Bhagavad Gita and implemented around 99 per cent of the promises. Even the manifesto was taken at every doorstep in the state to take feedback from the people. The government introduced English medium education, IB syllabus and TOEFL in state education. I am unaware where all the love and affection shown by the people gone,” YS Jagan said.

Jagan congratulates the winners, thanks party cadre and campaigners

“I don’t want to make any remarks on the election result, because I don’t have any proof. The NDA alliance is big and it has its presence in New Delhi. I am extending best wishes to prime minister Narendra Modi, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan for their victory,” YS Jagan said and thanked all the volunteers and star campaigners who stood behind the YSRCP during the elections.