For the last couple of days, YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has been holding hectic parleys with senior media persons to seek their support for his forthcoming padayatra slated to commence on November 6.
It is an open secret that his political advisor and strategist Prashant Kishor is behind Jagan’s latest affinity towards media.
While Jagan went all the way to Ramoji Film City to seek the support of media baron Ramoji Rao, he called all the other media persons to his Lotus Pond residence to have personal interaction.
He did not call Andhra Jyothy and ABN-Andhra Jyothy MD Vemuri Radhakrishna, while TV9 CEO Ravi Prakash did not evince interest in the meeting.
In fact, Jagan himself called Ravi Prakash and invited him for a meeting. He is learnt to have told him that if Ravi Prakash was not keen on meeting him, he himself would come to meet the farmer. However, it did not happen.
Meanwhile, highly placed sources said Jagan had a late night meeting for over two hours with the promoter of a popular television channel on Tuesday night.
He went to the residence of this media owner along with a former Congress MP from Godavari districts. This senior leader, who has not been associated with the YSR Congress party, has been in the forefront in attacking TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu.
Jagan is learnt to have explained his plan for taking out his padayatra and requested the channel owner to give good coverage to the padayatra.
“All that I want is to take my message into the people, which needs media support. You may have your own political affiliation and I will never object to that. But please give me some coverage for the padayatra,” Jagan is said to have requested the media chief.
