In a surprising development, YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday withdrew his petition in the Supreme Court seeking bail in his alleged illegal assets case.

According to party sources, Jagan has withdrawn the bail petition in the Supreme Court on the advice of legal experts, who apparently told him that he might not get the bail since the Enforcement Directorate is presently investigating the case against him. The bail petition was, in fact, listed before the Supreme Court bench in the morning on Monday.

But political observers say Jagan has a different reason to withdraw the bail petition. Had the legal experts told him that he might not get the bail on the ground that the ED is investigating the case, he would have not have filed the bail petition in the Supreme Court at all, instead of waiting till the petition is listed before the bench. Secondly, the ED has completed its questioning of Jagan three days ago and there is no need for the ED to challenge his bail on the pretext of influencing the witnesses.

Analysts say Jagan has withdrawn the bail petition in a strategic move. If he gets the bail in the Supreme Court at this stage, it would lend credence to the allegations of his rivals that his party had compromised with the Congress party to get the bail in return to his support to the UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential elections.

Already, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi has been alleging that the Congress government is helping Jagan’s mother Vijayalakshmi to take up Chenetha dharna at Siricilla in Karimnagar district as part of the understanding. So, he might have thought it is better to get the bail a little later, when the allegations against him subside, say the sources.