Jagan lobby warns KKR's new Cabinet

With the Cabinet formation imminent, it is time to new alliances to be formed, old loyalties to be renewed, grudges brushed aside and also time for friends to turn foes and foes to turn friends. With Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy due to leave for New Delhi later in the evening to discuss the government formation and Cabinet expansion with the High Command, hectic political activity was witnessed in the city on Friday.

Many of the former ministers and serving MLAs called on one of the epicenters of power Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy at his residence in Jubilee Hills. Their trips to the residence of Mr Jaganmohan Reddy come in the wake of rumours doing rounds that his loyalists may be left out of the Cabinet. The official reason given by many, including former minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, for these trips is that the former ministers and MLA’s had visited Mr Jaganmohan Reddy to enquire about his, since he had overexerted himself during the Odarpu yatra in Nellore district. 

Mr Bose said that there were no discussions about the expansion of Cabinet by the new Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy during the meetings. Former ministers Balineni Srinivasareddy and Konda couple and 15 MLAs were present in the meeting.

It is surprising that apart from the Konda couple, all the other leaders had conveniently kept their distance from Mr Jaganmohan Reddy when Mr K Rosaiah was the chief minister. It is even more surprising that they have suddenly become worried about the Kadapa MP’s health.

Talking to media persons, Nellore District Congress Committee president E Gopala Reddy said that the High Command should recognise the services and popularity of Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy. If the High Command did not recognize the services of Jagan and ignore the MLAs loyal to him in the Cabinet expansion, the Congress party in the state would face serious consequences, he cautioned.