Hyderabad: Chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy’s enthusiasm to launch a political party is facing opposition from the Reddy community who do not want their votes to be split between Kiran’s new party and Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress.
Even as Kiran is all set to launch his party immediately after the passage of the Telangana bill, sources close to the CM revealed to TOI that he is now not in a position to decide on his political course post-division in view of the apprehensions expressed by members of his community. “The fear of the Reddys is that the division in their vote would end their dominance in the state politics that has existed ever since the creation of separate Andhra state in 1953.
“There is a strong opposition to the CM’s proposal to launch a party from the Reddy community which is now solidly with Jagan as they fear that this will split their votes at the cost of Jagan and to the benefit of the Telugu Desam Party,” said an aide of the CM.
But Kiran’s dilemma is that he needs to launch a party for his own political survival as well as that of his confidants. “After his open defiance of the Congress high command, Kiran is unlikely to be given a party ticket and he cannot go to any other party. And several of his close political aides want him to float a party as they are not able to find accommodation either in the YSR Congress or TDP. With his championing of the united state cause, Kiran has generated goodwill among the people of the region and therein lies their best chance,” feel the aides.
For example, Vijayawada MP Lagadapati Rajagopal cannot be expected to remain in the Congress or join any other party and, therefore, wants Kiran to launch a new outfit. Similarly, infrastructure minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao is backing the CM to float a new party. Though Ganta was assured a ticket both by the TDP and YSR Congress, he could not get any guarantee of tickets for the former PRP MLAs from Visakhapatnam district. “Therefore, he prefers to cast his lot with Kiran,” said the sources. Others backing Kiran include ministers S Sailajanath, TG Venkatesh, Pitani Satyanarayana and Erasu Pratap Reddy.
As a result, Kiran is caught in the cleft stick: Either he has to think of his political future or undermine the political strength of the Reddy community. Many in Seemandhra attribute the delay in him launching the party to this dilemma.
Source: TimesOfIndia
