Political Diary

The Praja Rajyam Party came a cropper in the by poll in Tekkali. The party nominee Srinivas came a distant third bagging just 17,858 votes. The PRP played spoilsport for the TDP by eating away votes. The TDP lost narrowly and it was due to the votes split by the PRP

The congress party must thank the PRP and Chiranjeevi for splitting votes and enabling the party to win. The PRP vote share has come down and it blamed it on the sympathy factor.

The congress party won the Tekkali by election with a big margin. The congress candidate Korla Padmavathi wife of late MLA Revathipathi beat her nearest rival the TDP candidate Acchem Naidu by 7,173 votes.

Mr Reddy consoled Ms Kanthi who broke into tears after seeing Ms Vijayalakshmi.
At LN Peta in Srikakulam, two persons died during memorial meetings. In one meeting at Yambaram village, Kilari Saraswathi put a garland on a portrait of YSR and started sobbing. Later she took part in the rally and reached home. Minutes later she collapsed and died.
In another meeting at Amadalavalasa, Meka Prasad (40), suffered a heart attack and died.
In Devunikadapa (Kadapa) an autorickshaw driver committed suicide by hanging himself on Sunday. Sources said Ravishankar, 32, of Devunikadapa was an ardent fan of YSR.
Meanwhile, the Tirupati region of the Christian Students Centre on Sunday paid a candlelight tribute to YSR.

YSR’s adviser, Mr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, who met Mr Mukherjee on Sunday, said he had nothing new to say. The uncertainty is reflected in the pronouncements of ministers. “The high command should have decided on the issue of leadership. If it does not want Mr Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy as Chief Minister, it could have said Mr Rosaiah would continue. That would give us some clarity,” said a minister. “We are not sure who will be there as the Chief Minister next week,” said another.

Mr Rosaiah himself says he will move to the ‘C Block’, the office of the Chief Minister in the Secretariat, only after the high command gives the green signal.The demand to end the political uncertainty has also come from an unexpected quarter. On Sunday, the TD politburo member. Dr N. Janardhan Reddy, said during a press conference that the “Congress should make it clear whom they are going to make Chief Minister on a permanent basis so that some normality can be expected. The ministers and MLAs are not concentrating on people’s issues and instead are worrying about who will be CM.”

Meanwhile the minister for agriculture, Mr N. Raghuveera Reddy, known as a staunch supporter of the ‘Jagan as CM’ demand met the PCC chief, Mr D. Srinivas, to discuss issues related to the Anantapur MLC by-poll seat. He said the high command is seized of the matter of the succession issue and all will abide by the decision. He said the Congress Legislature Party will soon meet and elect its leader.

In another development, ministers have expressed divergent opinions on the continuation of the DGP, Mr S.S.P. Yadav, after Mr Rosaiah announced that there is no proposal to shift him. The minister for animal husbandry, Mr K.P. Saradhi, on Sunday said the DGP should be transferred for his objectionable behaviour at a media conference in Tirumala on Saturday.

In Delhi, the senior Congress leader, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said the high command would take a decision at an appropriate time which will factor in popular sentiments for Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy.

“We are fully aware of the popular support in the state. We know that there is emotional upsurge. We know that many people committed suicide and many people want Jagan,” he said before meeting Mr K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, Rajya Sabha member and close aide of the YSR family who has been staying for a week in the capital engaging the party top brass on this issue.

After the meeting, Mr Rao told reporters that he had nothing to add. “I had apprised him of the current political situation and the proceedings at the all party meet in Hyderabad to condole the late leader.”
Mr Rao also said that Mr Pranab Mukherjee would convey the decision after consulting the party president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and other senior leaders.

Asked if he would meet any other Congress leaders, Mr Rao said he would be in the capital to attend the meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on finance. However, Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy, who is also a part of the committee, will not be attending the meet.

Meanwhile, the law minister, Mr M. Veerappa Moily, and party state in-charge told reporters in Delhi, “We believe in timing. (We) will time it in an appropriate way because we have to look for another four-and-a-half years of stable government as far as AP is concerned.” Asked about the time it will take to decide on the succession issue, Mr Moily said, “I cannot give a timeline, but the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, will take a decision shortly.”

With tears in her eyes, Sabita, who was appointed the state’s first woman home minister after Congress retained power in the recent assembly elections, paid floral tributes to YSR, as the chief minister was popularly known.

Sabita, the first minister to visit the crash site, announced that the government would construct a befitting memorial for the late chief minister.She told reporters that the investigations into the crash were on and some vital clues were already collected.

The minister said the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) had launched its probe besides the investigations by the federal Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the atate’s Crime Investigation Department (CID). The government has also set up a two-member expert committee for a comprehensive probe.

Sabita said she was sad at not being able to attend the last rites of YSR at his native town Pulivendula in Kadapa district. The minister was caught in a huge traffic jam and could not reach the site in time for burial.

YSR, his special secretary, chief security officer and two pilots were killed when their helicopter crashed on a hillock in the forests. The chief minister was on his way to Chittoor district from Hyderabad to launch a mass contact programme "Racchabanda".

"I feel that launching this programme from Chevella could have saved his life," she said.

YSR had launched 1500-km state-wide "padyatra" from Chevella in Ranga Reddy district near Hyderabad in 2003. This walkathon helped him storm to power in 2004 and since then he launched every major scheme and poll campaign from Chevella.