Hyderabad, November 22: The return of MLAs loyal to Y S Jaganmohan Reddy back to the Congress is causing more problems than when they had switched loyalties to the YSR Congress Party.
After patting their backs for luring many Congress MLAs loyal to Jaganmohan back to the party fold, Congress leaders developed cold feet on Monday, suspecting the intentions of the MLAs.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief Botsa Satyanarayana and senior Congress leaders are asking if the MLAs’ renewed love for the party is related to the difficulties they were facing to get work done in their respective constituencies and hence, were forced to return to the party while maintaining ties with Jaganmohan.
The MLAs, who resigned on August 21 in protest against late YSR’s name being mentioned in the FIR filed against Jaganmohan, are wary of contesting bypolls in case their resignations are accepted, and are thus cozying up to the party again.
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“These MLAs are trying to pull the wool over Congress’s eyes. They want to seek fund from the government and nurture their constituencies till 2014 so that they can contest on YSR Congress ticket,” Botsa said on Monday.
When the Congress on Monday asked 16 MLAs, who were loyal to Jaganmohan and expressed their desire to return to the party, to hold meetings in their respective districts on Tuesday and announce that they would abide by the Congress policy and obey their leadership, only eight agreed and the rest did not even reply.
While Congress MLAs who were loyal to Jaganmohan are returning to the party, many Congress leaders are not welcoming them with open arms. Botsa has, in fact, ruffled their feathers asking them to give a “joining report” in his presence at the Congress Bhavan. Botsa and many leaders and MPs want the MLAs to apologise for their anti-party activities and speaking out against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Of the 26 MLAs who shifted allegiance to Jaganmohan, 16 have expressed their desire to return to the party. On Monday, MLA from Bhadrachalam K Satyavathi hinted that she wanted to work for the Congress.
“The war of words between Congress leaders, especially Botsa, and the MLAs loyal to Jaganmohan had become so acrimonious in the last one year that rapprochement is not easy if one side hardens its stance. The MLAs want to get back to the party fold but want to stay away from Botsa and other Congress leaders because they have said many things to each other in public, and don’t want to complicate matters further. MLAs meeting the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Speaker N Manohar are emphasising on this,” said Payakraopet MLA G Babu Rao.
The issue has further heightened tensions between the Congress chief and the CM. Botsa does not want the CM to be credited for getting the MLAs back to the party fold.
“The MLAs are playing a game with the Congress and have no serious intention of dumping Jaganmohan. They have become politically isolated as of now. They have realised that they are unable to get any work done in their constituencies because government is ignoring their requests. It is this that has forced them to seek the Congress again. They will sail with the Congress till 2014 elections so that they can nurture their constituencies and increase their chances of getting re-elected, but there is no assurance that they will not switch to YSR Congress in the 2014 elections,’’ Botsa said on Monday.
——Agencies