Though there are many Seemandhra Congress leaders who secretly desire chief minister's post, the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has created such a situation that none of them is ready to openly acknowledge their ambition.
In fact, even if the post is offered to them by the party high command, they are not in a position to accept it.
Kiran has succeeded in projecting himself as the champion of the united Andhra Pradesh cause and is even preparing the ground for the party leadership to sack him so that he can go down as a martyr for the Samaikyandhra cause.
Kiran's supporters have created such a situation in Seemandhra that if any leader from the region accepts the CM's post after Kiran's exit he will have to face the wrath of the people.
In fact, the APNGOs leader Ashok Babu, who has a soft corner for the Chief Minister, has been making provocative statements against Seemandhra Congress leaders, saying that they are waiting in the wings to grab CM's chair.
As a result, the CM aspirants in the Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet have beaten a hasty retreat. One leader after the other have been denying reports that they are in the race.
The names of senior Ministers Kanna Lakshminarayana and Anam Ramnarayan Reddy were doing rounds for the coveted post in the event of Kiran's exit.
However, they are now wary of lobbying for the post, fearing a violent backlash from the Seemandhra region.
On his part, the Chief Minister is continuing his defiant posturing and virtually challenging the Congress high command to take action against him. Ahead of his meeting with the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana in Delhi on November 18, he has made strong remarks against the leadership's decision to divide the state.
