Chiranjeevi MLAs feel let down - TeluguPeople.com News

Hyderabad The MLAs belonging to the erstwhile Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) have been expressing concern over their position and prospects in the party they adopted.

With most of the MLAs loyal to YS Jaganmohan Reddy coming back to the party fold, those who joined the Congress with mega star Chiranjeevi are feeling sidelined and let down.

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is taking the MLAs who came from Jagan camp into confidence. Because of various factors such as region and community, the chief minister seems more comfortable with them than the former PRP MLAs.

When Chiranjeevi joined the Congress with his followers on August 22, the MLAs thought they are going to make a critical difference to the stability of the government in view of threats of destabilisation emanating from Jagan camp.

Chiranjeevi met Congress president Sonia Gandhi once before deciding to join the party. For a second meeting he had to wait for almost three months after the merger.

Even after meeting Sonia Gandhi nothing tangible had happened. He was asked to wait for the right time and right opportunity and was promised that something would be done in keeping with his stature.

He is expected to be fielded as Congress candidate for the Rajya Sabha from the state for the seat to be vacated by senior Congress leader K Kesava Rao.

Chiranjeevi has by now understood the culture of the Congress party and decided that he cannot take anything for granted. That is perhaps why he is toying with the idea of accepting a couple of offers to act again in cinema.

The case of the MLAs who embraced the Congress at Chiranjeevi's initiative is one of eternal waiting without being able to establish a wavelength with the chief minister who gives an impression, politically speaking, that he is single and not ready to mingle.

One or two MLAs were expected to be inducted into Kiran's cabinet soon after the merger and others were supposed to be accommodated in vacant positions in various corporations. But nothing was forthcoming making them feel high and dry.

While the MLAs who are coming from Jagan camp are seen as Kiran's groupies in the changed scenario, the MLAs who came with Chiranjeevi are projected as PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana's supporters.

In fact, Botsa could not get a single new supporter after becoming the PCC boss. He has his following only in two of the three North Andhra districts-- Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.

He tried to befriend Chirajeevi in his bid to replace Kiran as chief minister owing to his initial enthusiasm at a time when the former Speaker was struggling to settle in the new job. Chiranjeevi is not a seasoned politician and a fighter to support a rival to the chief minister in power politics.

In any case, it would be foolish on anybody's part to expect Botsa to take the mantle from Kiran. Chiranjeevi, by his nature, would be happy supporting the incumbent. He did move closer to Kiran. Both of them praised each other at a meeting at Tirupati.

That was before the change of heart on the part of the MLAs in Jagan camp. Now again, Botsa is keen on taking Chiranjeevi's MLAs under his wings.

He claims in private conversations that he got an appointment for Chiranjeevi with Sonia with the help of Gulam Nabi Azad, the union health minister and AICC general secretary in-charge of the AP affairs.

In order to neutralise Botsa's threat to the MLAs coming from Jagan camp that the latter's letters of resignation to the membership of the party are with him and he could accept them if they did not care to meet him at Gandhi Bhavan.

Kiran Kumar Reddy is expected to help those MLAs to make an appearance at the CLP office in a couple of days and allow some of them to address the media commending the performance of his government. This would formalise their relationship with the Congress party without their having to visit Gandhi Bhavan.

Member of Parliament Mekatpati Rajamohan Reddy's statement on November 24th after a meeting with the MLAs loyal to Jaganmohan Reddy would lend further clarity to the Congress party affairs in the state.