As people across the two Telugu States celebrated Bhogi with traditional fervour, the festival took on a sharp political edge in Vijayawada, where Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Kesineni Chinni observed the occasion in a symbolic and confrontational manner.

At a Bhogi gathering attended by a large number of TDP leaders and party workers, Kesineni Chinni consigned the ceremonial bonfire pattadar passbooks bearing the photograph of former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, terming the act a protest against what he described as the previous government’s policies.

Addressing the gathering, the MP alleged that during the YSRCP regime, the then Chief Minister’s photograph was printed on land records and passbooks, amounting to the politicisation and misuse of people’s property documents. He said the practice reflected a mindset of control and appropriation rather than public service.

“People’s assets were branded with a political leader’s image. That itself symbolised the way the previous government functioned,” Kesineni Chinni said. He asserted that after the coalition government came to power, those passbooks were withdrawn and replaced with new documents carrying the official State emblem, restoring dignity and legality to land records.

He said the burning of the old passbooks during Bhogi was a deliberate and symbolic rejection of the previous government’s governance style. “This Bhogi fire represents the end of that system and the beginning of transparent administration,” he remarked.

Taking a dig at the YSRCP leadership, the MP also referred to Government Orders related to medical colleges, stating that the same leaders who issued them were now, according to him, disowning those decisions. “It is ironic that policies brought in by the previous government are now being discredited by their own leaders,” he said.

Kesineni Chinni further alleged that Vijayawada was neglected during the previous regime, with major infrastructure projects stalled and civic issues ignored. In contrast, he said the coalition government had prioritised the city’s development after coming to power.

Highlighting the role of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the MP said special focus had been placed on Vijayawada, with large-scale works such as underground drainage systems and urban infrastructure projects being taken up. He also claimed that new investments and development initiatives were generating employment opportunities for the youth.