Hitherto, there had been an impression on YSR Congress party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy would stand by his word and that if he gives a promise to anybody, he would fulfil it by all means, like his father late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.
So, when Jagan gave a promise to senior YSRC leader and former MLA from Chilakaluripet constituency Marri Rajasekhar that he would be made an MLC, everybody thought he would stand by his word.
Jagan could not give MLA ticket to Rajasekhar from Chilakaluripet in the 2019 assembly elections owing to caste equations.
The ticket was given to Vidadala Rajani and she won the seat. For his sacrifice, Jagan told Rajasekhar that he would be made an MLC.
There had been a talk within the party that Jagan would not only make Rajasekhar an MLC, but also induct him into the state cabinet.
In the last two and a half years, Rajasekhar’s name was heard every time when the MLC elections are held, but he could not get the nomination for various reasons.
Rajasekhar, though hails from Kamma community, had been very close to the family of late YSR. His father-in-law and former MLA late Somepalli Sambaiah was a prominent and popular leader in Guntur district. Sambaiah got elected from Chilakuluripet for the first time in 1978 on Congress ticket.
Even during the N T Rama Rao wave in 1985, he won the seat with good margin and proved his hold on the constituency. Even in 1994 elections, he won the seat, but lost to former minister Prathipati Pulla Rao in 1999.
In 2004, Sambaiah’s son-in-law Marri Rajasekhar entered politics and won as an independent defeating Prathipati Pulla Rao, overcoming the wave of YSR. It reflected the people’s support to Rajasekhar and Sambaiah family in Chilakaluripet.
Later, Rajasekhar joined the YSR Congress party but lost the elections in 2014, Despite his loss, he did not change the party and had been loyal to the party since then. In 2019, Jagan denied him ticket due to caste equations.
During the election campaign in Chilakaluripet in 2019, Jagan made a promise in front of thousands of people that he would make Rajasekhar an MLC and also induct him in the cabinet.
He showed a lot of sympathy for Rajasekhar for honouring his decision to give the ticket to Rajani and promised to him that if he campaigned for her and fetch her victory, he would make him an MLC and minister.
But till now, Jagan has not fulfilled his promise given to Rajasekhar. If the chief minister really felt like giving the ticket to Rajasekhar, it was not a big issue for him and nothing would have stopped him.
But for some strange reason, Jagan has been sidelining Rajasekhar. The party leaders are wondering whether Rajasekhar was less loyal than Talasila Raghuram, who also hails from the same community. In fact, Raghuram already has a cabinet rank post. Yet, he was given the MLC ticket again.
So, there is some other reason for Jagan denying the MLC seat to Rajasekhar. What it could be still remains a mystery.
