The Friday's Congress Coordination Committee meeting may turn out to be crucial for the political future of the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy who has been defying the high command's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
There is speculation in political circles that he will be given a dressing down at the meeting and asked to fall in line and cooperate with the process of division of the state.
By revolting against the party’s decision to carve out a separate Telangana state and projecting himself as a champion of the cause of united AP, Kiran has clearly crossed the “Lakshman Rekha” and is likely to pay the price for it.
On being summoned by the high command to participate in the party’s coordination committee meeting, the Chief Minister is leaving for Delhi on Friday, triggering speculation in political circles about a possible change of guard in the state to ensure smooth completion of the bifurcation process.
Kiran will be visiting the national capital after a gap of 45 days, a period that saw an open defiance and belligerent utterances by him against the UPA leadership’s decision to split the state.
“The Chief Minister will be told clearly to fall in line and cooperate with the Centre in the smooth division of Andhra Pradesh. There will be serious repercussions if he continues to be defiant,” a senior AICC leader said.
However, sources close to the Chief Minister say that he would strongly pitch for keeping the state united and make it clear that he would not preside over the division under any circumstances.
Kiran has already petitioned to the President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, bypassing the party channels, seeking their intervention to ensure that “constitutional conventions and procedures” are followed while dividing the state.
He and his supporters from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions, jointly referred to as Seemandhra, have been insisting that the Telangana resolution and the draft bill should be sent to the Assembly for clearance.
The strategy of the 53 year old cricketer-turned-politician is to put the draft bill for voting, get it defeated on the floor of the Assembly and send across a strong message to the Centre.
