BRACING FOR THE BATTLE

JAGAN HAS DROPPED MANY OF THE UNPOPULAR MLAs AND MPs. EVEN SO, A 2019-LIKE SWEEP SEEMS UNLIKELY

- Amarnath K. Menon

Nenu siddham, meeru siddhama (I am ready, are you ready)," was Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan N Reddy's war cry as he launched the poll campaign for the 175 legislative assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh on January 27.

Events have moved fast in the following month, with a mini exodus from his Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP). On February 21, Rajya Sabha MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy, a prominent industrialist who was a close aide of Jagan's father and former Andhra CM Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, became the latest to quit the party. His sister Y.S. Sharmila's sudden shift to the Congress in late January is. what had set the ball rolling. Being up against kith and kin expectedly dredges up the metaphors of an epic battle. "I am not Abhimanyu, who fell prey to the Opposition's deceit. I am Arjuna," the 51-year-old Jagan had declared, beating a drum, as a massive crowd roared at the rally in Sangivalasa near Visakhapatnam.