There is a growing anger against the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy from within the Seemandhra lobby.
The Seemandhra ministers, legislators and other elected representatives, who initially hailed Kiran as the "star batsman" playing the game effectively on behalf of Samaikyandhra cause, are now peeved over his unilateral and self-centered approach.
While the Chief Minister is earning good points by openly revolting against the Congress high command over its decision to divide the state, he is not taking his Seemandhra colleagues along with him.
Kiran is getting the individual credit for defying the central leadership and espousing the cause of united Andhra Pradesh, he is ensuring that the same credit does not go to his Seemandhra colleagues.
"He may have become a hero in the eyes of the Seemandhra people for forcefully arguing on their behalf, but he is reducing all of us as zeros," lamented a Seemandhra legislator. He said that their hands were now tied down and they cannot even speak out their minds.
"Every time we meet the Chief Minister to discuss about a collective strategy, he counsels us restraint and advised us not to resign in haste. On the other hand, he is cultivating a self-image of a rebel for a cause, leaving all of us in the lurch," the MLA lamented. There is a growing public pressure on the elected representatives of Seemandhra to quit their posts and join the anti-bifurcation agitation. "With each passing day, our political prospects are dimming. The more we delay in submitting our resignation and getting them accepted, the more trouble we will be facing," he said.
The Chief Minister, it is alleged, has been trying to build his own personal image as a fighter and crusader of the Samaikyandhra cause at the cost of the political careers of his own Seemandhra colleagues.
As a result, the gulf between Kiran and Seemandhra Congress leaders is widening by the day.
