Has the BJP inadvertently given the potent weapon of special status to the ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh? Has Modi brought back the dead issue and breathed life into it? Will the YSRCP make this a powerful election issue to attack the TDP in Andhra Pradesh and use it in the elections in 2024?

It appears that Jagan is all set to use the same weapon of special status that helped him come to power in the 2019 elections in 2024 too. While it is quite early and there are two more years to go, the YSRCP is likely to whip up sentiments and make it an election issue. The YSRCP is said to be drawing up a long plan to sustain the issue and bring it to the top of the agenda.

In the run-up to the 2019 elections, Jagan conducted a sustained campaign by touring every district and holding conclaves involving intellectuals, students and youth. These conclaves have made even a seasoned politician like Chandrababu go jittery and walk out of the alliance with the BJP and the Jana Sena.

Sources say Jagan is planning to fully utilize the change in the agenda of the three-member committee and blame it on the TDP. In the initial note, special status was mentioned as an agenda point and by evening, it was removed. The YSRCP has already begun saying that the pro-TDP lobby in the BjP was instrumental in changing the agenda points. The TDP is not in a position to press for special status as it has floundered in 2019. Insiders say Jagan and the YSRCP will fully utilize the gaffe of the BJP and the goof-up of the TDP to his own advantage.