The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) is doing everything possible to pacify the disgruntled leaders in the party as the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are approaching fast in Andhra Pradesh.
Sources say that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is speaking to some of the leaders. Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was supposed to launch several industrial projects on February 14 (Wednesday) in a virtual mode, but Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath did it after the cancellation of the Chief Minister’s programme.
According to the information, YSRCP general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and others have been instructed to talk to the sitting MLAs and the leaders who are unlikely to get tickets for the Assembly elections. The YSRCP has made changes in more than 60 Assembly constituencies as part of an exercise to ‘field the winning horses’ in the elections. At least 10 sitting MLAs are said to be unhappy with the rejig exercise even as the party has told them that the survey reports were against them.
It is learnt that the YSRCP senior leaders persuaded these leaders that their services would be recognised even if tickets have been denied to them. Some of them have reconciled, while a few are not mincing their words to express their displeasurem, sources said.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to Kapu Ramachandra Reddy, sitting MLA from Rayadurgam, during the interim budget session, while he interacted with Kanigiri MLA Burra Madhusudan Yadav, Mangalagiri Assembly constituency in-charge Ganji Chiranjeevi, Labour Minister Gummanuri Jayaram and others at his camp office recently, sources said.
Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy quit the YSRCP as Mr. Chiranjeevi was inducted into the party fold and subsequently made in-charge of the constituency. Similarly new in-charges were named to the constituencies being represented by Golla Babu Rao (Payakaraopeta), TJR Sudhakar Babu (Santhanuthalapadu), Tippala Nagi Reddy (Gajuwaka), Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath (Anakapalli), Malladi Vishnu (Vijayawada Central), Velampalli Srinivas (Vijayawada West), etc.
As the dissidence among the party MLAs and leaders over the appointment of new coordinators or in-charges for Assembly constituencies refuses to die down, the YSRC leadership is making all-out efforts to pacify those who have been either shifted to other segments or dropped.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao is said to have taken the issue of alleged non-cooperation of Mr. Vishnu’s followers to the notice of the party leadership, which suggested that both should work in tandem. Recently, Mr. Vishnu was made YSRCP Vijayawada City president. There is a talk that Kandru Kamala would be fielded from Mangalgiri as MLC Hanumantha Rao requested the party leadership to consider Ms. Kamala’s candidature. Both Mr. Jayaram and Chippagiri Virupakshi have opened their election offices in Alur constituency. There is a talk in the party circles that efforts to persuade the leaders would continue to ensure that the party would not suffer a setback in the elections.
