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With the campaign for by-election in Tekkali coming to an end this evening, Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy gave an emotional punch to the opposition parties.
Though the Congress victory is a foregone conclusion in the wake of sympathy wave following the death of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and also former MLA Revathipathi, Jagan did not want to take any chance. He gave a message to the voters of Tekkali through television channels, particularly Sakshi channel, explaining how his father had strived for the welfare of the state and how he had a special attachment to the north-coastal Andhra. Particularly, for Tekkali, YSR had planned several projects that would develop the region, he said.
The Congress leaders in Tekkali made all the arrangements to show Jagan’s appeal in every nook and corner of the constituency. The TDP and PRP candidates are learnt to have completely given up their hope.
The former home minister, Mr K. Jana Reddy, joined the “Jagan as Chief Minister” campaign on Tuesday.
The media had hitherto reported that Mr Jana Reddy was not interested in projecting anyone as a Chief Ministerial candidate as he wanted to support a nominee chosen by the party high command.
Mr Jana Reddy called on Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy and his mother Vijayalakshmi on Tuesday at the late chief minister’s residence in Begumpet. He handed over a letter of support to request the high command to choose Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy as the next Chief Minister.
Another former minister, Mr J.C. Diwakar Reddy, also gave his letter of support to Mr Jagan.
With this, 152 out of the 154 Congress MLAs are supporting Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy. The former minister and Sanathnagar MLA, Mr M. Shashidhar Reddy and the Khairatabad MLA, Mr P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy have not signed any letter so far supporting Mr Jagan Mohan.
Meanwhile, the APSRTC chairman and former minister, Mr M. Sathyanarayana Rao, issued a statement urging the party high command to select Mr Jagan Mohan for the top post.
‘With all my seniority and experience in the party for over five decades I have come to a conclusion that in this hour of crisis, the Congress high command should nominate Mr Jagan Mohan as the Chief Minister,” he said.
In a surprising development, AICC president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday summoned former union minister Renuka Chowdary to her residence to discuss the present political scenario in the state.
One does not know whether Sonia called Renuka r to know her views on Jagan or other leaders, or whether Sonia was considering her name for the CM’s post. But the meeting has raised many eyebrows. Renuka quietly left the place, without talking to the media.
Renuka has been staying away from the leadership controversies, ever since Y S Rajasekhara Reddy died in a chopper crash. She has not uttered a word so far. If her name has to be considered, then there would be bigger revolt in the Congress party. She does not enjoy good relations with most of the Congress leaders in the state. And her only plus point is her dynamism and loud mouth.
Let us see; more names might emerge in the coming days!
It is rather surprising to see old warhorses of the Congress to rush to the support of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s candidature for the Chief Minister’s post.
In the last three days, veteran Congress leaders – former CM N Janardhan Reddy, former union minister G Venkatswamy, former MLA V Purushottam Reddy and APSRTC chairman M Satyanarayana Rao, came out strongly with the strong demand for making Jagan as the next Chief Minister. Interestingly, all these leaders were bitter critics of late CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and even tried to foment dissidence in the party against YSR.
So, what could be the reason for their support to Jagan? Sources sayvthese leaders have realised that none of them would be considered for the CM post, as they have become outdated. At the same time, they don’t want other seniors like K Kesava Rao, V Hanumantha Rao or S Jaipal Reddy to be in the top seat, which would only cause heartburn for them. The best option is to support Jagan and get into his good books at least in the fag end of the career!
With the legacy of YSR coming to an end, a new era will begin if his son Y S Jagan becomes the chief minister and as per the party sources, that seems to be the most likely happening and it is just a matter of time. However, here is a look at the possible challenges Jagan might face.
Top in the list is said to be the Swine flu mania along with the other infectionary diseases like Viral fever, Flu etc. On the other hand, Jagan is expected to contain any disobedience from the party members which might arise in the absence of his father.
Then, there is also the challenge for him to maintain equation with seniors in the party as they are going to play a crucial role going forward. There will come a time when the YSR enigma will fade and Jagan will be on his own and it will be up to him to take the legacy forward and win the people’s heart.
Praja Rajyam party mahila wing president Shobha Rani has made an appeal to film actress-turned-politician Roja, who quit the Telugu Desam Party on Monday.
‘Please don’t try to come into the PRP. We don’t know what will happen to our leader Chiranjeevi,” she said, in a sarcastic tone. She pointed out that Roja had proved an iron leg both in the TDP and the Congress. “When she joined the TDP, party president Chandrababu Naidu had a miraculous escape from naxalite attack. And when she met Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, within two days, he had perished. Somehow, some people have these vibrations in their body that can cause disaster for others,” Shobha Rani said.
The PRP mahila president called YSR’s son Jaganmohan Reddy and consoled him. It is not known whether she had advised not to entertain Roja or not.
Rajya Sabha member and Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s long time friend K V P Ramachandra Rao has rushed to New Delhi on Monday evening.
The obvious reason is to apprise the high command of the developments in the state congress and the demand for making Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as the Chief Minister. And for that, he has to appease the top leaders like Veerappa Moily, Ahmed Patel and other leaders.
Sources say KVP has taken a few ‘suitcases” as he used to do during the YSR period, to please the bosses. So, if not pressure tactics, suitcases will work to a great extent in changing the high command’s opinion.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to arrive in Hyderabad on Thursday to hold talks with various sections within the party. It is after his visit that the party may decide to convene a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) to elect its new leader.
