Jagan’s ’so-called’ loyalists may ditch him anytime

Many among the Congress legislators, who had resigned from the Assembly and primary membership of the party in support of YSR Congress Chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, seem to have developed cold feet and planning to reconsider their decision.

Speculation to this effect is gaining momentum in political circles as the Kadapa MP was running out of all options to save his skin from the dragnet being spread against him by the CBI for his alleged ill-gotten wealth by dubious means.

As many as 29 legislators, including 26 belonging to the ruling Congress besides two Congress MPs, have announced about quitting their posts and also from the party protesting against what they termed as political vendetta launched by the Congress against Jagan and late YSR.

However, only 23 Congress legislators submitted their resignations on August 22, while the other three Konda Sureka, Jayasudha and K.Satyavathi (all belonging to Telangana region) did not do so. The three claimed that they had already submitted their resignations to the Assembly Speaker on the separate Telangana issue and hence did not find any reason to quit again.

Though both the Congress Lok Sabha members, Mr Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy and Mr Sabbam Hari, have announced their willingness to quit in support of Jagan, only the former had submitted his resignation to the Speaker, Ms Meira Kumar, on Wednesday while the latter said he would do so later.

The vacillating attitude of the three woman legislators in putting their papers along with others and also the Anakapalle MP, Mr Sabbam Hari, claiming to quit after sometime has become a talking point in the political circles, especially in the corridors of Gandhi Bhavan. The reason being put forth by these Jagan supporters for their action is not holding water in political circles.

What with the CBI tightening its noose around Jagan’s neck after the Supreme Court rejected his plea to stay the High Court order asking the CBI to investigate into his assets, his supporters seem to have realized that it would be only a political suicide to sacrifice their elected posts. Therefore, they seem to be getting ready to desert the sinking ship as the Kadapa MP was running short of options to wriggle out from the precarious situation of being arrested.

The very fact that the Parkal legislator Konda Sureka, who did not hesitate to sacrifice her ministerial post for Jagan not being made the Chief Minister soon after YSR’s demise, not resigning along with others has raised many an eye brow in political circles. Since YSR Congress had not so far made its stand clear on the Telangana issue and her chances of winning on Jagan party ticket being very bleak, she seems to have realized that “a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush”. This seems to be the thinking of the other two legislators too and also that of the other Congress MP.

The loyalists of late YSR and supporters of Jagan were fully aware of the fact that the Kiran Kumar Reddy government cannot be destabilized without the resignations of some more legislators in favour of Jagan. Thus they were planning to woo some more legislators to jump into their bandwagon but became despondent in the various set-backs being encountered by Jagan, including the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene.

At the same time, the Chief Minister and the APCC president stepped up their efforts to win back the legislators, who had resigned and their maneuverings seem to be paying dividends. Over half a dozen legislators from among those who had resigned are learnt to be in touch with the Chief Minister’s camp and trying to bargain for protection of their future political career. These legislators are learnt to be in touch with the Assembly Speaker’s office to make sure that their resignations are kept in abeyance.

All these factors amply point out that those who have been expressing their unstinted support to Jagan till now seem to be steadily becoming jittery about their political future by continuing to align with him. Thus the so-called loyalists ditching him for their own survival should not be a surprise.

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8. Cong MLAs supporting Jagan to resign?
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