The Congress faced a revolt in Andhra Pradesh with at least two party leaders deciding to enter Rajya Sabha election fray on their own. Former Minister JC Diwakar Reddy and member of legislative Council KVV Satyanarayana Raju have announced their plans to contest the elections to the Upper House of Parliament. Both the leaders, hailing from coastal Andhra, have mustered the support of the required number of MlAs to file nomination papers by linking their revolt to the issue of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Concerned over the development, the party high command asked Andhra Pradesh Congress president Botsa Satyanarayana and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to come to New Delhi for talks to finalise the list of candidates.
But in a further blow to the leadership’s grip over the State unit, the Chief Minister refused to visit Delhi citing the ongoing debate in the Assembly on Telangana issue. It is second time that Kiran Kumar Reddy has expressed his inability to come to Delhi in a week. last week, he had cited the same reason for not going to attend the party’s national level meeting.
Reliable sources said that the Chief Minister spoke to AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh to inform that he was not coming to Delhi as key discussions were on in the Assembly. While the move of JC Diwakar Reddy and Satyanarayana Raju was being seen as a direct challenge to the authority of the Congress leadership, the MlAs from Andhra region argue this was the only way of expressing their opposition to the proposed bifurcation of the State.
At least one Minister, Ganta Srinivas Rao, and seven MlAs signed the nomination papers of Raju and an equal number of MlAs had signed the papers of JC Diwakar Reddy. R Suryaprakash Rao, one of the MlAs who signed the papers of JC Diwakar Reddy, was summoned by PCC president and warned of disciplinary action. But he defended it saying it was a warning to the party high command.
Another MlA supporting Diwakar Reddy, Ugra Narasimha Reddy expressed his unhappiness over Diwakar’s statement that every MlA supporting him will be gifted a Volvo Bus. His warning led to Diwakar Reddy withdrawing his statement. Earlier Diwakar Reddy was issued a notice for indiscipline when he publicly criticised Sonia Gandhi asking her to quit as the party president after the party decided to divide Andhra Pradesh.
Biennial elections are due to six Rajya Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh on February 7. Four of the seats were held by the Congress and two by the Telugu Desam Party. With 146 members, Congress would have won the seats comfortably but the divisions within the party over the bifurcation of the State and the exodus of many members has left the party in a tight corner making it difficult for it to win all the four seats.
The revolt by Seemandhra MlAs and the defiance of the Chief Minister indicate that they may part ways with the Congress if the Central Government goes ahead with the planned bifurcation of the State next month.