Jagan's move throws spanner in Congress works

Kadapa Mp Ys Jaganmohan Reddy’s decision to resign from the primary membership of the Congress party is widely seen as an attempt to preempt the expected disciplinary action against him by the High Command.

Mr Jaganmohan Reddy, in his resignation letter addressed to AICC president Sonia Gandhi, had listed out attempts to split his family and hijack the legacy of his father, former chief minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, as the reasons, among others, which had forced him to take the crucial decision.

These attempts to split the family were all too evident after his uncle YS Vivekananda Reddy set up camp in New Delhi and categorically stated that he was in the race for a Ministerial berth. This, followed by staunch YSR loyalist KVP Ramachandra Rao’s increasing proximity to the new Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy were seen as the deciding factor.

Mr Jaganmohan Reddy’s move will now undoubtedly put the fence sitters into a position of discomfiture. They will now have to clarify where their loyalties lie, with the Congress or with the family of YSR.

The resignation also comes at a time when the signs of disciplinary action became too evident, with Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy stating that this action was all but imminent.

Indications that Mr Jaganmohan Reddy would opt to quit than face the disciplinary action were all too visible, especially when the recent comments made by the Kadapa MP, who said that his supporters were urging him to quit the Congress on the grounds, are taken into account.

These calls for forming a separate party stem from the fact that the surge in the young leader’s popularity, especially in the wake of the Odarpu Yatra, was unprecedented.

His supporters also believe that the Congress is wary of the people accepting Mr Jaganmohan Reddy as the rightful political heir to the political legacy of his father