Kiran may return to Congress: Sai Prathap

HYDERABAD: Is Jai Samaikyandhra Party (JSP) chief N Kiran Kumar Reddy leaning towards his parent party, the Congress? Is Kiran having second thoughts over keeping his fledgling party alive in the wake of his supporters deserting him one after another?

Giving scope for such doubts, his confidant and Rajampet MP Annayyagari Sai Prathap, after meeting AICC state affairs incharge Digvijaya Singh in Delhi, told reporters that he had asked the AICC high command to go soft on Kiran and allow him to rejoin the party.

'I have told AICC leaders that Kiran is a loyal Congress man. If I was with the Congress for 30 years, Kiran's family was loyal to the Congress for more than 50 years.

However, Kiran had left the party like several others in Seemandhra only to protest against the bifurcation of the state. I hope Kiran would also be readmitted into the party,' he said.

As expected, Sai Prathap came back to the Congress fold on Monday after hanging around with Jai Samaikyandhra Party of Kiran for a while.

A day after Digvijaya Singh had invited him to renew his ties with the Congress, the Rajampet MP presented himself before the AICC point man on Monday in Delhi.

It is learnt that he would be named as the Congress candidate for Rajampet LS seat in the ensuing polls.

Meanwhile, Digvijaya Singh said Sai Prathap was a senior leader of the party and his services were very much needed.

'I welcome Sai Prathap back to the Congress. However, certain formalities such as taking the permission of the AICC chief are to be completed before formally inducting him into the party,' he said.

Digvijaya Singh also took the opportunity to give a call to all those who had left the party in Seemandhra to rejoin it.

'We know whoever left the Congress in Seemandhra are all sincere and loyal Congress soldiers. But, they deserted the party for various reasons. Hence, I call upon them to come back to the party,' he said.

This development took place on a day when the Congress central election committee met in the AICC war room in Delhi on Monday to pick party candidates in Seemandhra for the ensuing polls.

The meeting was attended by APCC chief N Raghuveera Reddy, Union minister K Chiranjeevi and some other leaders from Seemandhra.

According to sources, during the meeting, Seemandhra leaders are understood to have requested the AICC point man to give a call to the seniors, who had left the Congress in the region, to rejoin the party, as the party is desperately in need of winning candidates to be fielded in the ensuing elections.