YSRCP president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said Sunday that his party was wrong in supporting the NDA government on the election commissioner appointment bill. He argued the current process is skewed and needs the Chief Justice of India back. He said, "We regret it now," regarding his past support.

YSRCP leaders say support for NDA has always been "issue-based" and issue of poll body's functioning demanded more transparency and assurances from government

In a significant shift in his political positioning, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said Sunday that his party "was wrong in supporting the NDA government" on Bill regarding the appointment of election commissioners.

"We regret it now... We have realised that it was wrong on our part to allow a selection process where the election commissioner is selected by a three-member panel comprising the Prime Minister, a minister chosen by the PM and the Leader of Opposition," he said at a press conference, arguing that the current arrangement had skewed the composition of the Election Commission (EC).

Jagan also called for the law to be amended to restore the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to the selection committee. "The process now is so skewed that it resembles a situation where students are appointing their own examiner. This shouldn't be the case," he said.

The statement is significant because the YSRCP had supported the 2023 legislation in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, despite the Opposition objecting to the exclusion of the CJI.

'Thoughts have changed'

This is not the first time Jagan has raised concerns about the functioning of the EC. In September, reacting to The Indian Express investigation into differences in the poll panel, he wrote on X that "democracy could prevail only when people had complete confidence in constitutional institutions such as the EC".

The report had cited objections raised by two Election Commissioners over decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls

"Rather than an exchange of allegations, the public needs clarity on what objections were recorded, what action was taken on them, and how transparently the system functioned, be it for adding, deleting or restoring names on electoral rolls," Jagan had written.

He had called for measures to restore public confidence in the electoral process, protect citizens' voting rights and ensure that people could exercise those rights without fear.

"We had always mentioned that our support to the (NDA) government will be issue-based. In this issue, we think that the public needs more assurance from the government," said a YSRCP leader.

Parliamentary support for NDA

The party's support for the NDA on select legislative matters had not translated into a formal alliance with the BJP. Its parliamentary interventions, however, often helped the government secure support beyond its own alliance, making Jagan's revised stance politically significant.

The YSRCP has consistently supported the NDA in Parliament. In 2020, it extended support to the Centre over the now-repealed contentious farm laws. Its legislators attended the inauguration of the new Parliament building in 2023 even as Opposition parties boycotted the event.

Between 2019 and 2024, when the YSRCP was in power in Andhra Pradesh, his party backed the NDA on the Citizenship (amendment) Act, the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the abrogation of Article 370.

Since the 2024 polls, where the YSRCP was reduced to just four Lok Sabha MPs and was ousted from power in Andhra, the party has backed the NDA's choice of Speaker. It also backed the ruling alliance's vice-presidential pick, C P Radhakrishnan, in 2025 and earlier this year, announced support for the Delimitation Bill package.

Coordination with Left

Sources close to Jagan said the YSRCP had been in talks with Left parties, including the CPI(M) and the CPI, over what they described as the mass deletion of voters in Andhra Pradesh.

"As a party in the Opposition in Andhra Pradesh, we think that we should stand with those who are supporting the interests of those whose votes were illegally deleted. The Andhra Pradesh government, led by the TDP, has been siding with the State Election Commission and taking advantage of a pliant EC," a source said.

Jagan's remarks come amid continuing political confrontation between the YSRCP and the ruling TDP-led alliance, which includes the BJP and the Jana Sena Party.

The YSRCP has also accused the ruling coalition of attempting to murder its Lok Sabha floor leader, P V Midhun Reddy. The TDP, in turn, has alleged that Midhun instigated a mob to commit arson during the filing of nominations for the upcoming local body polls.

With the TDP-led alliance firmly in power in the state, the YSRCP is seeking to consolidate Opposition support around issues such as electoral roll revisions and the functioning of constitutional institutions.

A broader Opposition front?

Jagan has also extended public support to leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP). After CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were arrested after unfurling the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar, Jagan yet again reacted on X.

"The system has a flaw that needs to be corrected. Trust in the electoral process must be restored. The arrests of Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka do not solve anything, it only aggravates the situation," he said in a post.

His intervention came after another regional party from neighbouring Telangana, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), supported the CJP, suggesting the possibility of overlapping political interests among regional parties.

Jagan's changing position also comes amid speculation about efforts to build a broader Opposition front involving regional parties.

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK's relations with the Congress have soured after the latter joined forces with Vijay's TVK following the Assembly elections this year. The DMK too has opposed the SIR while extending support to the CJP.

For the YSRCP, any such arrangement will be driven primarily by its political battle in Andhra Pradesh, party sources indicated.

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"Jagan has always been open to alliances which will support YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh. Currently, the Left front and even a front led by regional parties seem good enough to stop the TDP-led alliance in the state," a source said.

An alliance with the Congress, however, remains unlikely for now, given the strained relationship between Jagan and his sister, Y S Sharmila, who heads the Congress's state unit.

"An alliance with the Congress is not on the cards as of now," a source said.