Not very long ago, the YSR Congress Party President Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was widely seen as the sole saviour of united Andhra Pradesh cause.
Given his determination, charisma and effective leadership skills, there was a general perception that he was ideally positioned to lead the fight from the front and halt the state's division.
Soon after his release from jail on conditional bail, there was a sense of optimism among the integrationists that Jagan would take over the Samaikyandhra movement and emerge victorious in the end.
However, a close look at the developments in the last few weeks shows that the Kadapa MP is losing grip over the issue and is increasingly looking jaded, confused and unsure of how to carry forward the fight to keep the state united.
Apart from the fast that he had undertaken for the cause of united AP, there has been no cohesive plan or strategy to mount pressure on the UPA government to reverse its decision. No big idea has emerged from the YSRCP camp on the issue, except the predictable attacks on the Congress and TDP during routine press conferences.
What is worrying for the YSRCP cadres is that there is a growing public perception in parts of Seemandhra region that Jagan is found wanting in terms of showing sincerity of purpose and commitment to keep the state united.
There is a growing sense of acceptance among the public that the YSRCP chief and his leaders are only enacting "drama" on Samaikyandhra while doing nothing concrete to achieve the objective.
The repeated personal attacks on the TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and holding him responsible for the UPA's decision to split the state has also not gone down well with the people in coastal Andhra.
Instead of blaming a fellow opposition leader, the YSRCP leadership should have come up with concrete plans to stall the division of the state.
The party has not demonstrated sincerity or commitment in this regard, it is alleged.
There is also a feeling among the supporters of Jagan that he may have lost a historic opportunity to mobilize people on a massive scale to mount pressure on the Centre to withdraw its decision on Telangana.
In fact, everything was in favour as long as he was in jail. But, since his release from prison, Jagan seems to be slowly losing the grip over the movement.
