Has a change of guard in Andhra Pradesh become inevitable in the wake of the severe drubbing faced by the ruling Congress in the seven Assembly segments where by-elections were held?
This question has assumed importance and being debated acrimoniously in the corridors of the party headquarters in Gandhi Bhavan and the lobbies of the State legislature. The by-poll debacle has already taken a toll on the State party leadership and the Kiran Kumar Reddy government what with the ruling party vertically divided and the ministers gunning for the scalps of the APCC president Botcha Satyanarayana and Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy holding them responsible for the miserable performance of the Congress at the hustings.
After firing the first salvo at the PCC president and the Chief Minister on Wednesday immediately after the poll results came out, Health Minister Dr D. L. Ravindra Reddy put the party and the government in a fix by sending his resignation to AICC president Sonia Gandhi taking moral responsibility for the party stunning defeat. Though the constituencies where elections were held do not form part of his native district of Kadapa and was also not made in charge of any constituency, Dr Ravindra Reddy, by putting his papers, has tried to corner the Chief Minister as well as the members of the ministry to take moral responsibility for the poll debacle and quit. In fact, he openly demanded the entire cabinet to send resignations to the AICC president forthwith.
As if to make the Chief Minister’s cup of woes full, Deputy Chief Minister C. Damodar Rajanarasimha and a few other members of the cabinet took pot shots at the PCC Chief and the Chief Minister and suggested them not to hold on to their posts any longer in the interest of the party and before it meets its Waterloo in the ensuing by-elections to 18 Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat.
Former minister Dr P. Shankar Rao, who was recently sacked by the Chief Minister, also launched a scathing attack on both the PCC president and the Chief Minister holding them solely responsible for the party’s humiliating defeat.
The Central leaders of the Congress, including AICC president Sonia Gandhi, who are already worried and regretting for burning their fingers in placing their confidence in Kiran Kumar Reddy and made him the Chief Minister at a crucial juncture when the separate Telangana issue was smouldering and the administration had come to a standstill due to the general strike by the TNGOs, were jolted by yet another political storm brewing in the State in the wake of the bye-poll debacle of the Congress.
As a matter of fact, the AICC leadership tried ti wriggle out of the crisis in Andhra Pradesh by entrusting the reins of the State party leadership to Botcha Satyanarayana with the fond hope that he along with the Chief Minister would strive to prevent the party from collapsing leave alone rebuilding it. But to the utter chagrin of New Delhi, Botcha Satyanarayana became another power centre in the State and was at loggerheads with the Chief Minister constantly as the PCC chief has been nurturing the ambition to take over the reins of the State administration from Kiran Kumar Reddy.
Thus the AICC leadership seems to have its own doubts about continuing Kiran Kumar Reddy as the Chief Minister while it was also not keen on handing over the reins to Botcha Satyanarayana as he too with his group politics has come in their bad books. Hence, the Central party leaders seem to be hunting for a suitable leader, who could not only incense and strengthen the party cadre, but also take along with him all sections and groups in administering the State. This exercise of finding the right leader seems to have become the priority as of now for the AICC leadership before it embarks on a change of guard in the State, informed sources disclosed.
The Congress High Command seems to be also fully aware that the party has to take a firm stand on the separate Telangana issue as any further dilly-dallying would only wipe out the party’s existence in the region, which was clearly evident from the outcome of the by-elections in the seven Assembly constituencies. The Congress MPs and MLAs from the Telangana region are also likely to revive their agitation tactics in the name of a separate Telangana State for their own political survival. But can the Congress leadership for its own survival in the Telangana region bifurcate the State at the cost of it losing its base in the Seemandhra region where the sentiment of a united State is also strong.
Informed sources disclosed that the Congress High Command, in a bid to kill two birds in one shot might not be averse to the idea of handing over the reins of chief ministership to Damodar Rajanarasima, who is already the Deputy Chief Minister and not only hails from the Telangana region, but also belongs to the weaker sections. The idea behind this thinking seems to be to at least contain the Telangana agitation till the by-elections for the 18 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat were completed anytime before August. This might also give a breather to the High Command to chalk out its plans for the party for facing the crucial elections in 2014 based on its performance in the second of the by-elections in the State.
All said and done along with the mercury soaring high even before the peak Summer, the political atmosphere in the State also has suddenly warming up after the recent by-elections to the seven Assembly segments. And there is no denial of the fact that the victory of the YSR Congress Party in Kovvur has only helped to “fan” the fire to generate more heat! (NSS)