HYDERABAD: Union minister S Jaipal Reddy’s meetings with ministers and MLAs have triggered a whisper campaign in Congress circles about possible political developments towards the end of September.
Some Congressmen have been nurturing a hope that New Delhi will go for a wholesale reshuffle of the government and the party though there are no such definite indications from the person who matters the most -- Sonia Gandhi.
This group, mainly the Reddy faction, has not been able to digest K Rosaiah at the helm of affairs.
They have launched a campaign against the chief minister, particularly after he fell sick in the first week of this month. Some of them even visited Delhi and poured out their grievances. Their gripes against the CM are four: a) Rosaiah is not able to handle administrative challenges effectively; b) he always looks to Delhi for guidance; c) he is not giving MLAs any importance; and d) a Reddy chief minister alone would be able to stand up to the challenge posed by Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Though Delhi seems to accept some of these arguments, the question being raised is where is the guarantee that a successor would not make matters worse. A relatively clean administration apart, Rosaiah has never maintained any group in the party. He also been able to keep a cordial relationship with ministers from all regions even in the wake of the separatist agitation.
But the same cannot be said of others and very few are likely to find acceptance in all sections in the party. Rosaiah baiters have been dropping the name of Union minister S Jaipal Reddy as the most acceptable candidate. However, Jaipal himself scotched the speculation. He made it clear that he is not in the CM’s race nor interested in state politics. Talking to newsmen during a visit to Mahabubnagar district on Saturday, the Union minister said he did not think that Rosaiah would be replaced, and that there was no political significance to his meetings with state-level leaders in recent days. He said the issue of cabinet expansion or reshuffle would be dealt with by the CM, whose prerogative it is.
Kurnool MLA T G Venkatesh, a possible Cabinet hopeful if Rosaiah goes in for expansion of his ministry, said Jaipal Reddy was being unnecessarily dragged into the political speculation.
Meanwhile, APCC chief D Srinivas met with the CM this evening.
The APCC president said he had gone to offer his best wishes on the occasion of Vinayaka Chaturthi festival and Ramzan. Asked about the chief minister’s health condition, Srinivas said there seemed to be improvement.
