There is a general talk that YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is heavily depending on his political advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, senior minister Botsa Satyanarayana or for that matter party general secretary V Vijay Sai Reddy in the party matters.
One can find these leaders regularly in the Tadepalli camp office of the chief minister. Besides, Jagan’s personal secretary K Dhanunjay Reddy is also a must in the CMO, not just for the official purposes, but even in the selection of candidates based on the intelligence inputs and survey reports.
However, according to party sources, one man who has been indirectly calling shots in the CMO is Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, YSRCP legislator from Chandragiri assembly constituency.
Of late, Chevireddy has become the most important person in the chief minister’s coterie and has become the most trusted lieutenant of Jagan, compared to all the other leaders mentioned above.
“Jagan gives more weightage to Chevireddy than anybody else. He has become an inseparable part of the Jagan’s core team and is giving suggestions in the selection of candidates. He has also proved a real trouble-shooter for the party when it mattered most,” a source said.
Unlike other leaders, Chevireddy makes quiet entry into the Tadepalli office, goes straight into Jagan’s chamber and takes part in the discussions, while others wait outside for instructions from the chief minister.
“Chevireddy is a must-present even in the personal programmes of Jagan during festivals and other ceremonies. He looks after the goshala adjacent to the camp office at Tadepalli,” sources said.
Such is the clout of Chevireddy with Jagan that he could get the party ticket for his son Mohit Reddy from Chandragiri, besides getting him appointed as the Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) chairman.
Very recently, he got the promotion as a regional coordinator for Ongole parliament as well as combined Nellore district. And when the party was facing crisis in Ongole parliamentary seat, he volunteered to be nominated as the party candidate for the seat.
Thereby, he could send strong signals to the disgruntled leaders in former minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy and Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy camps.
“He is gradually emerging as No. 2 in the party,” the source added.
