When Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took oath as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on May 30, 2019, he carried with him the echoes of a promise made during his 3,648 km Padayatra (October 2017–January 2019): to be a brother to every woman in the state. From June 2019 to March 2024, his government turned that pledge into a golden chapter of women’s empowerment, delivering transformative welfare, safety, and political inclusion that set a benchmark not just for Andhra Pradesh but for India. As the world marks International Women’s Day, this is the story of a leader who placed women at the heart of progress and delivered, and now shadowed by a coalition government’s neglect and betrayal.
A Vision Rooted in Reality
YS Jagan’s tenure began with an intimate understanding of women’s struggles, witnessed during his pre-election march. He saw mothers and sisters crushed under the weight of debts from unfulfilled loan waivers promised by the previous TDP government under Chandrababu Naidu. His response was immediate and resolute. From June 2019, his administration rolled out Navaratnalu, nine flagship welfare schemes with women as their cornerstone. By March 2024, over 90% of their beneficiaries were women, a testament to his unwavering commitment.
The YSR Aasara scheme, launched in September 2020, cleared Rs. 25,571 crore in loans for 78,94,169 women across 7,98,395 self-help groups (SHGs) in four phases, directly credited to their accounts between 2019 and 2024. The YSR Sunna Vaddi (zero-interest loan) scheme injected Rs. 4,969.04 crore into SHGs by March 2024, reducing non-performing assets (NPAs) from 18.36% in 2019 to an astonishing 0.45%, as per the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC). This financial turnaround empowered 99.5% of SHG women to repay loans on time, breathing new life into the DWCRA framework that had languished under previous regimes, a stark contrast to the coalition’s abandonment of such support systems, leaving women like those in Koppu Gondupalem village, Anakapalli district, vulnerable to exploitation and violence.
Safety and Dignity: The Disha Legacy
YS Jagan’s vision extended beyond economics to safety. In December 2019, following the horrific rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad, his government introduced the Disha Bill. Passed by the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, it aimed to fast-track trials and impose the death penalty for heinous crimes against women within 21 days. By 2023, the Disha App had been downloaded by over 1.5 crore women, offering instant SOS alerts while Disha Police Stations prioritized women’s security. These measures transformed Andhra Pradesh into a fortress of dignity.
Yet, under the coalition government, this fortress has crumbled. Within a month of their rise to power, a ninth-grade girl in Koppu Gondupalem was brutally murdered by a stalker previously arrested for harassment but released on bail, despite her parents’ pleas to the police, who were too engrossed in “red book governance” to act. In Punganur, Chittoor district, seven-year-old Anjum was abducted, with police ignoring her family’s complaints for days; her body was later found, and the Home Minister’s visit turned into a political stunt rather than a solution. Crimes against women have surged to an average of three atrocities per hour, with 16,809 cases registered between June 2024 and January 2025, as admitted by Home Minister Vangalapudi Anita in the Legislative Assembly, a grim reversal of YS Jagan’s safety legacy.
A Political Revolution
YS Jagan’s boldest stroke was in political empowerment. In 2019, he enacted a pioneering law mandating a 50% reservation for women in nominated posts and local bodies, a first in India achieved without nationwide protests. By March 2024, women occupied over 51% of such positions, exceeding the target. From ward members to Zilla Parishad chairpersons (7 out of 13 by 2023), women’s representation soared. Of 26 ZP vice-chairperson posts, 15 went to women, and of 36 mayor and deputy mayor posts combined, 18 were held by women.
Historic firsts abounded:
Zakia Khanam became the Legislative Council Vice Chairman in 2021, The Home Ministry saw successive women leaders, Mekathoti Sucharita (2019–2022) and Taneti Vanitha (2022–2024), both from marginalized communities. Pamula Pushpa Sreevani, a tribal woman, was Deputy CM from 2019 to 2024. In village secretariats, 51% of 1.3 lakh jobs (63,791 posts) and 53% of 2.6 lakh volunteer positions went to women by 2023. In the health sector, two-thirds of 53,000 jobs created over five years were allocated to women, per government data. Today, the coalition’s inaction, exemplified by TDP leader Durgada John’s rape of a 16-year-old in Pithapuram, shielded by party pressure, casts a shadow over this empowerment, undermining women’s voices and security.
The Numbers of Transformation
Between June 2019 and March 2024, YS Jagan’s government transferred Rs. 1,89,519.08 crore via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to women’s accounts under schemes like Amma Vodi (education aid) and YSR Cheyutha (Rs. 75,000 over four years for 26,98,931 women aged 45–60 from SC, ST, BC, and minority communities, totaling Rs. 19,189.60 crore). An additional Rs. 94,347.28 crore flowed through non-DBT benefits, such as housing plots and construction funds, bringing the total to Rs. 2,83,866 crore. SHG women saw incomes rise; 54% earned over Rs. 60,000 annually by 2023, per a central government survey, reversing decades of poverty. Partnerships with companies like ITC, P&G, and Amul (launched in July 2020) made women stakeholders, with Amul alone benefiting over 27 lakh women in the dairy sector by sharing profits biannually. Initiatives are now stalled under the coalition, leaving women economically adrift.
A National Benchmark
While India debated 33% reservation for women in legislatures, YS Jagan leapfrogged to 50% in Andhra Pradesh by 2019, with implementation exceeding 51%. The World Bank notes that women’s economic inclusion can boost GDP by 27%; YS Jagan’s policies embodied this wisdom. Rwanda’s 61% female parliamentarians inspire globally, but Andhra Pradesh’s grassroots-to-cabinet empowerment was a homegrown marvel, unparalleled in its scale and impact, a model now at risk as the coalition shelves welfare schemes and fails to protect women.
Voices of Change
Lakshmi from Kurnool, once drowning in high-interest loans, now runs a petty shop, earning Rs. 5,000 monthly, thanks to YSR Aasara and Sunna Vaddi. “My children eat better now,” she says. Swapna, a Visakhapatnam volunteer, credits YS Jagan: “I’m not just a wife anymore; I’m a breadwinner.” Multiplied across millions, these stories define YS Jagan’s legacy from 2019 to 2024. Yet, under the coalition, voices like these are silenced, replaced by the cries of a fifth-grade girl’s parents in Muchumarri, Nandyal district, whose daughter was abducted, raped, and dumped in the Krishna River, with police offering no recovery or justice.
A Brother’s Promise Kept and a Stark Betrayal
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy built on his father Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s legacy of appointing India’s first woman Home Minister in 2004, vowing to go “two steps ahead.” He did, blending welfare, safety, and power into a singular vision. By March 2024, Andhra Pradesh was not just a state but a model. Today, that model lies in tatters under the coalition. Schemes like Deepam, Aasara, and Cheyutha have been shelved, and promises like free bus travel, Rs. 1,500 monthly under Aada Bidda Nidhi, and Rs. 15,000 annually per child via Talliki Vandanam remain unfulfilled, with no budget allocations. Pension cuts (from 66.34 lakh to 62.10 lakh recipients) and unkept promises of Rs. 3,000 in unemployment benefits compound the betrayal.
The coalition’s failures are visceral
The coalition’s failures under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu cut deep, dismantling YS Jagan’s visionary safeguards like the Disha App and Disha Police Stations that once shielded women with swift justice and security. This neglect has unleashed a wave of atrocities: in Hindupur, a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law endured a gang rape on Dasara day, with police stalling arrests for three days; in Dharmavaram, Swarna Kumari (62), a police officer’s mother, was kidnapped and murdered after pleas for help were ignored for ten days, grim proof that even the connected are forsaken, let alone ordinary citizens. Where Jagan once elevated women with empowerment and dignity, CBN’s coalition has plunged them into despair, scrapping transformative initiatives and breaking every promise.
This Women’s Day, Jagan’s tenure from June 2019 to March 2024 shines as a beacon of hope – a golden era when women rose, now eclipsed by Naidu’s reign of apathy and betrayal.
