Chiru accepts Sonia invite, meet may change AP political scenario

In a major political development, the Praja Rajyam chief, Mr Chiranjeevi, has accepted an invitation from the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, to meet her on May 29 for talks on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

The former MP, Mr C. Ramachandraiah, told this correspondent on Thursday night that he had spoken to Mr Chiranjeevi who is in Mumbai and the latter had confirmed that he got an invite from Mr Veerappa Moily, AP Congress in charge and union minister, and had agreed to meet Mrs Gandhi.

It was not clear whether Mrs Gandhi will be seeking his support to enable the Congress bag four of the five seats in the Rajya Sabha elections, or whether she would allot a seat to the Praja Rajyam from its quota, keeping in view the future needs of the ruling party which has a slender majority in the House.

The development also comes in the backdrop of Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy defying the party diktat and insisting on touring Warangal district to console families of those who died in the aftermath of the death of his father, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, in September last year. Telangana groups are opposed to Mr Jagan’s tour since he is a staunch supporter of United AP.

There is speculation in the Congress that in case the over-ambitious Mr Jagan rocks the boat and floats a regional outfit with his supporters, the Congress can have the support of the Praja Rajyam’s charismatic leader, Mr Chiranjeevi, and his 18 MLAs.

The Congress has a slender majority with 157 MLAs in a House of 294. With resignations from 12 MLAs (TRS 10, TD 1, BJP 1) during the pro-Telangana agitation, the effective strength of the House is 282.

In fact when the AP Congress chief, Mr D. Srinivas, tried to have a tie-up with the Praja Rajyam for the local municipal polls, the Jagan group had scuttled it.

A few days ago Mr Chiranjeevi had said his party would field its own candidate for the RS polls, and would seek support from Congress and the MIM (Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) to garner the required 43 votes. PR has been more anti-Telugu Desam from the beginning.

Speculation was rife some time ago that Mr Chiranjeevi was not averse to a merger with the Congress. Mr K. Rosaiah, had an hour-long meeting with Mr Chiranjeevi in Tirupati, soon after taking over as Chief Minister, wherein he proposed that the PR chief support his government or merge the party with the Congress. Mr Chiranjeevi apparently told him that he would consider the offer.

There has been no activity in Mr Chiranjeevi’s party except for his undertaking some tours in districts. Also, a number of former Telugu Desam leaders have left the Praja Rajyam and rejoined the parent party.

Several PR MLAs have openly suggested a merger with the Congress since they feel it would give Mr Chiranjeevi a key role in state politics.

Congressmen oppose DS bid

The Pradesh Congress Committee president, Mr D. Srinivas, who wanted to enter the AP legislature through the Legislative Council is facing stiff opposition from local Congressmen who want the seats for themselves.

They want Mr Srinivas to contest from his native Nizamabad Urban Assembly seat which is going for bypolls in the next few months. According to Gandhi Bhavan sources there are at least 30 Congress leaders from the city aspiring for a Legislative Council seat. The poll notification for these seats are expected to be announced by the Election Commission anytime after April 10.

There is going to be elections for three Legislative Council seats from Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts and the Congress, MIM and the Telugu Desam are slated to win one each. The elections are likely to be unanimous.

Some Congressmen have already told the party high command that if a PCC chief himself opts out of the race from his native Assembly bypoll to take the Council route it would send a wrong message to other candidates who will be in the fray for bypolls to 12 Assembly seats.

The Congress MLAs from the city are also opposing Mr Srinivas entry as they are afraid that their chances of becoming a minister will get jeopardised in the next Cabinet reshuffle.

Two ministers in the present Cabinet are also afraid that the PCC chief’s entry will be a threat to their continuance in the Rosaiah ministry. A senior Congress MLA, Dr P. Shanker Rao, is already eyeing a Cabinet berth in the reshuffle claiming seniority and being a Dalit. Another strong contender for berth is former minister, Mr Marri Shasidhar Reddy, who is considered to be close to the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah.

DS plans entry through Council

The Pradesh Congress Committee president, Mr D. Srinivas, appears to have decided to re-enter the legislature not through the Assembly but through the Legislative Council from the Hyderabad local bodies’ constituency that go to the polls in April.

Mr Srinivas, who hails from Nizamabad town, was elected three times from the Nizamabad Assembly segment but lost to the BJP candidate in the last Assembly elections.

Though there is a clear vacancy in the Nizamabad Assembly segment due to the resignation of Mr A. Laxminarayana over the Telangana issue, Mr Srinivas has decided not to contest the bypoll for several reasons.

A strong votary of a separate Telangana state, he has been maintaining a stoic silence on the issue ever since he was made PCC president. However, sentiment in favour of statehood for Telangana runs high in Nizamabad and Mr Srinivas would have had to declare his stand during the election campaign.

What may also have influenced Mr Srinivas to opt for the council rather than the Assembly is that the moment he filed his nomination papers for the Nizamabad bypoll he would be viewed as a future chief minister of Telangana state. Several politicians from different communities in the Telangana region aspire to the post should the state be bifurcated and they would do their best to scuttle Mr Srinivas’s chances.

The advantage of the council route is that the Congress and the Majlis are sure to get one seat each from Hyderabad and the election would be unanimous.