Former MP Vijayasai Reddy launches regional Andhra Pradesh party for 2029 elections

Former MP V. Vijayasai Reddy will announce the name and modalities of his new political party after Vijaya Dasami, positioning it as a regional outfit exclusively for Andhra Pradesh that will challenge the TDP, YSR Congress Party and Jana Sena Party in the 2029 elections.

Speaking at a press conference, Reddy declared that neither he nor any member of his family would be the party's Chief Ministerial candidate, saying he intended to remain only a mentor on the lines of Bal Thackeray in Maharashtra. He said the party would be confined to Andhra Pradesh as he lacked the resources to establish a presence in both Telugu States.

Youth empowerment and political rationale

The former MP said 66% of the seats would be allocated to youth aged between 25 and 40 years, irrespective of their caste, as their empowerment was crucial to the country's future. He claimed that people in Andhra Pradesh were disillusioned with the TDP and YSRCP and were looking for a third party to come to their rescue, adding that the Congress, CPI(M), CPI and other parties were not in a position to confront the ruling parties.

Reddy said the party's sole objective would be to rid the State of corruption and the politics of vindictiveness practised by the TDP and YSRCP, which he said was reminiscent of the politics in Tamil Nadu in the past. He described the TDP as the "red book party" and the YSRCP as the "rappa rappa party".

Five-point manifesto

The new party's manifesto would have five major goals: bringing down the prices of essential commodities and increasing people's incomes; providing free electricity to households and farmers by combining Central subsidies with solar installations and making the government buy power generated by them; reducing taxes on petroleum products; expanding water storage capacity to 3,000 TMCFT; and extending maximum support to government schools and providing a "graduate bridge allowance" to unemployed graduates.

Reddy said the new party would treat the TDP, YSRCP and other parties as political rivals, and not enemies. On the possibility of pre-poll alliances, he said it would depend on the circumstances prevailing at the time.

Source: The Hindu