Hyderabad: YSR Congress President Jaganmohan Reddy may have been in jail for a year now, but his mother and party`s honorary president YS Vijayamma is confident that the electorate would support the party in a big way in ensuing Panchayat elections in Andhra Pradesh and others.
"We would win 80 per cent of Panchayatis. People have not forgotten Rajasekhara Reddy and they have more confidence in Jagan than in any other party," she told PTI here on Monday.
"People today ask whether the government existed? Rajasekhara Reddy implemented so many welfare schemes without imposing any burden on common people. The budget in the first year of his tenure was Rs 41,000 crores. Today, the budget is worth Rs 1,61,000 crores. They are not able to implement even a single welfare scheme properly," Vijayamma alleged.
The state government had recently announced that it will conduct elections to Panchayat Raj bodies, municipalities, corporations and other local bodies during the coming three months.
The ruling Congress claims to have won the recent co-operative elections with a landslide victory, but only four per cent of voters participated in the polls, she said.
Jaganmohan Reddy was arrested in the alleged disproportionate assets case on May 27 last year and he has been lodged in the Chanchalguda prison here since then.
"I am very sad about what has happened. This is all political victimisation. But, I trust in God. I believe he would come out soon. Jagan also tells me that light always follows darkness," she said.
Vijayamma said she chose to lead the YSRCP in his absence to ensure that the party remained strong, though she was never interested in politics.
"Its difficult for me to do politics in the absence of Jagan. I was never interested in politics. It has been a difficult year for us. Rajasekhara Reddy found a permanent place in the hearts of the people. Jagan proved himself to be an able son who can continue the legacy of his father. I am trying to see that the goodwill, and the party remained intact," she said.
PTI
