Telangana media is agog with reports that KCR’s next target in the state is YSR Congress. According to reports, his aides are in touch with the YSRC’s lone MP Ponguleti Srinvasa Reddy and lone MLA Payam Venkateswarlu (Pinapaka,Khammam district).
TRS supremo and chief minister K Chadrasekhar Rao, who is KCR for the people of the state, has weakened the Congress considerably and almost neutralized the Telugu Desam party. Though these parties are present nominally in state Assembly, the way the candidates of these parties have been rejected in the elections in recent times, there won’t be any trouble from these parties in near future to the ruling party. So, the pink party has reportedly turned its attention to YSR Congress, which is also an Andhra Party.
The YSRC won three seats in Assembly in 2014. Two MLAs Thati Venkateswarlu and Madan Lal have already quit the party some time back to join the TRS to become partners in transforming the Telangana into ‘Bangaru Telangana’.
Now the TRS is planning to finish the YSRC in Telangana. Though KCR never has made his intention to banish the YSRC from Telangana, in his hearts of heart of hearts, he would never allow the parties led by Andhras flourish on T-Soil. Jagan’s predicament is that he is not in a position to wage a battle against TRS and KCR. Why? The answer to this question lies in a remark made by Andrha Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu in Assembly a week ago. Naidu said, in response to Jagan’s charge that he was not able to fight with Telanganga government because of cash-for-vote scam, ” Jagan needs to be friendly with Telangana ruling party to protect his properties in Hyderabad.” Whether it true or not, for us, one thing is clear, neither Naidu nor jagan are in a position to take on mighty K Chandrasekhar Rao. They remain mute spectators even in the face of public poaching on opposition MLAs by TRS.
Once Khammam MP and T-YSRC president Srinivasa Reddy and Payam call it quits, YSRCP loses its political address in Telangana. Of late MLAs and MLCs,in Telugu states, have discovered that they can serve the constituencies only by joining the ruling party. After the merger of rebel TDP in TRS , it is enough for the lone YSR MLA simply to a write a letter to the speaker urging him to treat him as TRS member and allot a seat among the treasury benches. What would Jagan do? He won’t have even a member in Assembly to deliver a letter to the speaker seeking disqualification of the defector.
As for the YSR party MLA and MP, switching sides looks best option if they want to do something to their constituencies and for themselves, and seek reelection next time. What would they achieve by clinging to YSRCP?
According to the reports, Srinivasa Reddy has already been contacted by the state Irrigation minister T Harish Rao, who is known to have mastered the persuasion skills. Srinivasa Reddy is yet to take a final view on joining the TRS, the reports say. Many of the Telugu politicians are big business people, mostly involved in contracts. They need governmental support to thrive. Party loyalties are temporary. They can continue to love and like YSR and the YSRC even after joining the TRS. Jagan, himself a businessman, is not the one who is loath to understand the business compulsions of a political leader. After all, politics is business.
