Leaders give Congress a casting worry

 Published: 06th May 2013 12:29 PM  |   Last Updated: 06th May 2013 12:29 PM

By JR Prasad

The ongoing cold war between Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and his detractors in the Cabinet seems to be turning into a clash between the Reddys and Kapus in the Congress.

At a time when PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana has almost declared a war against the Chief Minister by reportedly sending a note to the Congress high command against his alleged unilateral decisions, Union Minister K Chiranjeevi’s camp too has stepped up its attack on Kiran Reddy.

Endowments Minister C Ramachandraiah, a close confidant of Chiranjeevi, on Sunday spewed venom at the Chief Minister.

“Before introducing a new scheme, the Chief Minister must discuss it with the Cabinet. Formulating schemes is not his personal affair,” he told reporters in Vijayawada. As if to rub salt into the wounds of the Chief Minister, who is facing a revolt-like situation in the Cabinet, Ramachandraiah said, “Chiranjeevi should be the CM candidate from the Congress in 2014 polls. He will play a bigger role than any other leader in the party.”

Stating that Chiranjeevi was suitable for the Chief Minister’s post, he questioned, “What is wrong if he contests the 2014 polls as a CM candidate? People of the state are eagerly waiting to see him as CM.” He further said Chiranjeevi was inferior to nobody in the party.

Interestingly, on Saturday, while addressing a public meeting at Bheemili, Ramachandraiah ignored Kiran Reddy in his speech, saying that Chiranjeevi and Botcha would lead the Congress in the 2014 polls.

Since PCC chief Botcha, Chiranjeevi, Ramachandraiah and Tourism minister V Vasanth Kumar are all from the Kapu community, the sudden stepping up of attack on Kiran Reddy by Ramachandraiah lends credence to the argument that the ongoing war between the Chief Minister and his rivals in the party is now taking a caste colour.

Strengthening this theory, the State Government Chief Whip Gandra Venkataramana Reddy said Ramachandraiah might be praising Chiranjeevi as he is a fan of the veteran actor and also belongs to the same community to which Chiranjeevi belongs.

Why Bigger Role for BCs?: Ramachandraiah’s remarks that Chiranjeevi should be declared CM candidate of the Congress in the 2014 polls should be seen in the context of the growing demand in the party for a bigger role for leaders from the Kapu community.

There is a general opinion among Kapu leaders in the party like PCC chief Botcha, former PCC chiefs D Srinivas and K Kesava Rao, and Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao, and minister Kanna Lakshmi Narayana, that majority of Reddys and Dalits, once considered as the vote-bank of the Congress, are now rallying behind Jagan.

“If a major chunk of Malas are backing the YSRC, Madigas are throwing their weight behind the TDP as the yellow party is in favour of categorisation of SCs,” a leader felt.

These leaders are of the opinion that if the Congress can woo BCs, who constitute about half of the state’s population, and Kapus, who are around 14 per cent of the population, the party can turn the electoral fortunes in its favour.

D Srinivas recently submitted a report to AICC chief Sonia Gandhi requesting her to consider the option of going to the 2014 polls in the state on the “BC plank” to turn the electoral tide in the party’s favour.