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A meeting of Seemandhra ministers held on Tuesday at the residence of state finance minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy that was attended by several ministers, including Union tourism minister K Chiranjeevi, was cited as the latest and a deliberate move to happen outside the influence of the chief minister.
The meeting was meant to discuss ways to impress upon the Antony Committee to tour the state in the aftermath of agitation against the state bifurcation. The ministers entrusted this job to Pradesh Congress Committee president Botcha Satyanarayana. Political insiders clearly see it as a snub to Kiran Reddy as till recently his official residence acted as the centre for any major activity directed against the state bifurcation.
Developments that were quickly seen undermining the leadership of Kiran Reddy began last week when an MP from Kurnool district and an MLA from Kadapa district, both belonging to the ruling Congress, announced their intention to join the YSR Congress Party led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy soon after he was released on bail.
Recently Kiran Reddy not only reiterated his opposition to the CWC decision but also made light of leaders like Congress General Secretary in charge of AP Digvijay Singh, commenting that the latter would not be permanent. This open defiance by the chief minister, who was considered as a political light weight with no strong influence over the affairs of the party or the government, has sent out mixed signals rather than projecting him as a strong leader.
According to party insiders, the grant of bail to Jagan by the CBI court has also added to Kiran's frustration as the YSR Congress was likely to further consolidate its position at the expense of Congress in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. Opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was quick to interpret this development as a ‘match fixing’ between the Congress and the YSR Congress.
“Jagan’s 16 month-custody was like a proverbial long rope given to the Congress leadership in the state to help revive the prospects of the party. As that did not happen, the party high command has now zeroed in on the inorganic route to add to its strength in the next Lok Sabha elections through Jagan. This comes on top of the decision to bifurcate the state. In this game, Andhra leaders, including Kiran, find no relevance for themselves and they suspect leaders like Digvijay for this situation,” a party source told Business Standard.
The CM camp is also said to have been suspecting Jagan's latest moves as a part of YSR Congress’ long pending agenda of dislodging Kiran Reddy as CM. TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao's latest forecast that Kiran would not last as CM beyond October has only added to these suspicions.
