Tirupati laddu row: What does it mean for Jagan Mohan Reddy

A YSRCP observer points out: “During Rajasekhara Reddy’s time, there were allegations that Christian missionaries had huge influence in the state. There were similar allegations during Jagan’s tenure (2019-2024).” However, this wasn’t a factor in the elections that saw him lose and rival Telugu Desam Party (TDP) lead an NDA coalition to power.

In fact, under YSR, his daughter Y S Sharmila’s husband ‘Brother’ Anil Kumar, an evangelist, even courted controversy by holding huge conventions in Hyderabad. YSR was seen as promoting Anil Kumar at the time, Sharmila has now fallen out with the YSRCP and has joined the Congress.

“Anil Kumar’s popularity coincided with the rise of the YSR family in politics. This cannot be overlooked. But YSR always maintained a pro-Hindu image, even attending religious festivals of Hindus more than Christians,” the YSRCP observer noted.

YSR once said in the Assembly, “It is unfair to restrict our family to a straitjacketed identity, be it Christian, Hindu or the Reddy community. We have inter-faith and inter-caste marriages in our family.”

Before he occupied the office of Andhra CM after scoring a huge win in 2019, Jagan too made it a point to visit a temple and a dargah, besides a church, in the week preceding the swearing-in to underline the “secular” nature of his government. Jagan is also a devotee of Swami Swaroopanandendra Saraswati, and has often been seen seeking his blessings and advice.

That the YSR family are Reddys helps, giving them an upper-caste, influential sheen in a where a majority of the Christians are Dalits. Though official figures peg the population of Christians in the state to be only 1.3%, it is known to be much higher with many known not to declare their faith so as to not lose SC reservations.

“Reddy Christians consider themselves a class apart from Dalit Christians and often flaunt their Reddy roots,” as per a Dalit historian.

However, many YSRCP leaders are apprehensive that the charges that the ghee sanctioned for Tirupati laddu under the Jagan government was adulterated with animal fat may not be easy to brush away for Jagan, with the TDP going aggressively against him on the issue. This is a departure from TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s usual politics, and seen as driven as much by the compulsions of a coalition that includes not just the BJP but also the JanaSena Party, whose leader Pawan Kalyan is purposefully courting a Hindutva image.

As part of this, Jagan’s failure to sign a declaration saying he had faith in Tirupati before visiting the Tirumala temple was also made into a big deal, forcing him to abort his trip. In the wake of the row, Jagan asserted that he believes in “the religion of humanity” and reads the Bible “within the confines of four walls”. However, a wary YSRCP leader pointed out that questions are also being raised now as to why Jagan did not follow the tradition of visiting Tirupati with his wife (Y S Bharathi, who is also a practising Christian) after becoming the CM of the state.

Jagan’s decisions as CM to enhance the financial assistance to Christians for pilgrimage to Jerusalem in November 2019 and promoting trips to the pilgrimage city on the tickets of State-owned buses on the Tirupati-Tirumala route had also come under question at the time.

With the party already battling several crises and departures, a YSRCP observer said, its Hindu leaders may see the Tirupati row as a reason to join the exit queue.

But others don’t see this religious tag lasting for long. “Jagan is a mass leader who is known for his welfare measures. Beyond a point, he cannot be cornered over his religion and even the TDP is aware of this,” a YSRCP leader said.