YSRCP Congress Party has started preparing the ground for the forthcoming elections. As a first step, it has recently appointed the party’s election committee.
Two things are clear when one looks at the members included in the committee.
One, it clearly indicates that the selection of the members was based on the Seemandhra criterion.
Secondly, only those members who can take on the coordination activities without getting into the election fray have been carefully cherry picked.
There has been no representation from the Telangana region and all members hail from the Seemandhra region.
It is unclear as of now, if more people would be included to provide equal representation or if the committee was chosen keeping the imminent bifurcation in mind.
Dr Mysoora Reddy, YV Subba Reddy, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Ummareddy Venkateswarulu, Daadi Veerabhadra Rao and YS Anil Reddy have been included in the said committee.
Mysoora Reddy was a minister with the Congress government and was a Rajya Sabha member when he was with the TDP. He has no intentions of contesting in the elections this time.
YV Subba Reddy is Jagan’s paternal uncle. He wanted to contest from Ongole, but Jagan refrained him. He has been actively involved with the party affairs for a long time and he is now the coordination committee member.
Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy has been an active member of the party apart from being involved in the day to day affairs of the Sakshi newspaper. He will not contest the elections.
In the case of ex union minister Ummareddy Venkateswarulu, though he is not expecting a party ticket, he wants a ticket for his son. While that issue remains unclear, he has been given the membership of coordination committee as a mark of respect. Also, he has prior experience of working as an executive committee member during the elections.
Ex minister Daadi Veerabhadra Rao also wants a ticket for his son. It is being said that his son could be given the ticket for Vizag West constituency. However, if Daadi shifts base to Vizag, there are chances of rivalry flaring up between his camp and Konatala’s camp. To avoid this situation, it is being said that Daadi was given this honorary position.
Last, but not the least, YS Anil is Jagan’s family member.
But one cannot help but wonder if this is a clear indication to ex TDP leaders Mysoora, Ummareddi and Daadi that they cannot contest or if it is indeed a way of respecting their seniority and contribution to the party.
