Hyderabad, March 17: “Natural actress” and Congress legislator Jayasudha, a Jagan loyalist, on Tuesday showed a streak of defiance before retracting the same within a few hours over the party’s whip for Thursday’s MLC election.
When representatives of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) approached her during the day with a letter, asking her to be available Wednesday and Thursday and follow the party whip during the MLC election by legislators, she simply refused to sign, citing a busy schedule.
She apparently told them she couldn’t attend Wednesday’s party meeting as she had given her date for a shoot but promised to make her mark on the day of polling.
Later speaking to Express, Jayasudha explained that she didn’t sign the letter because she was not aware if it was a party whip. After the contents of the letter were explained to her, she said, she stuck to her guns “because I had other engagements.”
However, she clarified that she would vote for the candidate “allotted to her by the chief minister.” “So far no candidate has been finalised. I believe it will be done tomorrow. I will surely follow the party line. My refusal to sign the letter should not be construed as defiance,” she said and pointed out that since there was no candidate who Jagan Mohan Reddy wants his MLAs to vote for, there was no issue at all.
Sources said Jayasudha changed tack after discussing the issue with Jagan who had decided not to field any candidate. With Jagan telling his loyalists to vote for whomever they want, for now, the actress appears to be sailing with the party.
–Agencies