Jagan to tour Telangana in April
HYDERABAD: Having encountered little resistance to his 48-hour Rythu Deeksha at Armoor in Nizamabad district recently, YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is believed to be contemplating launching his Odarpu Yatra in Telangana in April.
Reddy has steered clear of making any statement on the sensitive Telangana issue during his Rythu Deeksha on the pretext that the protest was intended for draw the attention of the government to the problems being faced by farmers of the region.
When he embarks on Odarpu Yatra, he will have to maintain silence, not saying `yes' or `no', to the Telangana demand, on the pretext that the yatra is intended to console the families of those whose members died from shock in the wake of the demise of YS Rajasekhara Reddy in September 2009.
If the Armoor show was his first attempt to test the Telangana waters, the proposed Odarpu Yatra in all districts in Telangana will be in the form of some kind of an electoral incursion.
According to YSR Congress leaders, the response Jagan got at Armoor was more than expected, considering the fact that he, snatching a flag from a TDP member, proclaimed himself as an integrationist in Parliament on December 10, 2009 the day after the Union home minister had made the controversial statement on Telangana.
Jagan's assertion that he had respect for the Telangana sentiment and that he had no power to stop formation of Telangana if the Centre desired it so impressed at least some sections in the region who are thankful to the late YSR for the benefits he showered on them during his tenure as chief minister.
Jagan Mohan Reddy is understood to be keen on weaning away people from the influence of Telugu Desam and Congress to emerge as a potent force in Telangana.
He, however, does not eye the vote-bank of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) as any attempt of poaching will become counterproductive since the TRS has become synonymous with the Telangana movement.
This apart, it is suspected that the TRS has a tacit understanding with the YSR Congress and if Jagan Mohan Reddy had little difficulty in organising his threeday Deeksha at Armoor it was because the TRS allowed it.
Jagan Mohan Reddy wants to marginalise the TDP and engineer a shift of votes from it so that he would be ale to win some seats in areas where the Telangana Rashtra Samiti is weak.
'We will be able to win seats in Telangana. This may look unbelievable but given the fact that the late YSR has a huge following in the region, we will win not fewer than 20 seats.
A majority of YSR admirers, though they are votaries of separate Telangana, will prefer Jagan Mohan Reddy since he has gone on record saying that he is not against Telangana,' a Telangana leader of the YSR Congress said.
News Posted: 20 January, 2012
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