In a state where caste and political identities are inexorably intertwined, Rosaiah had to be caste away. A leader from the Reddy community, who form the backbone of Congress’ support base, had to be brought in. And brought in quickly, to checkmate rebel MP and CM aspirant S Jagan Mohan Reddy who was going berserk, targeting the leadership at will.
By Our Correspondent
Even a reluctant emperor needs some time to pack his baggage when asked to leave the throne. The plight of septuagenarian Congress leader K Rosaiah was no different when a call from 10, Janpath came, telling him that his time was up. However hesitant and tentative he may have been in his Chief Minister’s gaddi for 14 months, Rosaiah was not prepared for such a sudden exit.
He had a line-up of engagements that included attending a conclave of Vysya community, to which he belongs, and a visit to Puttaparthi to seek the blessings of Sai Baba. It soon dawned on him that the blessings of political kind come with an expiry date.
The caller was Ahmed Patel, political secretary to party president Sonia Gandhi, and the mission was clear: change of guard. While the timing was a surprise, the reasons were not. In a state where caste and political identities are inexorably intertwined, Rosaiah had to be caste away. A leader from the Reddy community, who form the backbone of Congress’ support base, had to be brought in. And brought in quickly, to checkmate rebel MP and CM-aspirant YS Jagan Mohan Reddy who was going berserk, targeting the leadership at will.
A restive and brash Jagan was proving to be a thorn in the high command’s flesh with his no-holds-barred emotional campaign to claim the political legacy of his charismatic father and former chief minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy.
On November 23, the Chief Minister was summoned to Delhi and the riot act was read out to him. Such was the swiftness and contrivance of the mission that Rosaiah had to abandon his convoy and security and travel in Ahmed Patel’s car to 10, Janpath where he was asked to cite health and advancing age as the reasons for his exit. As a staunch Sonia loyalist, he followed the advice.
The dramatis personae in the palace intrigue were a bunch of long-time YSR critics including Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, CWC member K Kesava Rao and MP V Hanumantha Rao who have considerable clout with Delhi bosses. They have been growing restive over Jagan’s road shows and mounting pressure on the leadership to stop him in his tracks.
Time was running out for the party in the face of open defiance by the Jagan camp and growing public perception of the Rosaiah government as weak, unassertive and distracted.
The unfolding political spectacle had all the elements of a family tear-jerker—a grieving son’s bid to claim the political legacy of his charismatic father, a high command appearing clueless on how to rein in the enfant terrible of the party and a weak-kneed Chief Minister looking lost for words.
Jagan had consistently defied the party’s diktat, carried out his controversial “Odarpu” yatras and gave frequent pinpricks to Chief Minister. The last straw came over the week-end when “Sakshi” TV and newspaper of the same name, owned by Jagan, launched a scathing attack on Sonia Gandhi, questioning her leadership abilities and holding her responsible for the party’s slow degeneration.
The media report, which had also dubbed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as “rubber stamp”, set off a political storm and widespread protests across the state. Several party leaders demanded strict disciplinary action against Jagan, a demand that the leadership could not ignore anymore.
“How can we sit quiet when our leader is being targeted in this manner?” Hanumantha Rao said. The move by the MP’s media group was widely seen as a provocative act to force the high command to suspend him from the party. The calculation in the Jagan camp was that such a disciplinary action would have made him a political martyr and paved the way for the launch of a new party.
The political crisis could not have come at a more inopportune time for the UPA government which is already saddled in a string of corruption scandals and facing heat from the combined opposition over the 2G spectrum scam.
The script for change of guard was prepared based on an assessment that the ruling party needs a strong and assertive leadership in AP to handle the twin challenges of rebellion by Jagan camp and political turbulence over Telangana statehood issue.
A breathless pace of events unfolded the next day with Rosaiah making the dramatic announcement of his resignation, followed by an emergency meeting of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) where, true to Congress tradition, a one-line resolution authorizing the party president to select the new leader was passed unanimously Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony, Veerappa Moily and Ghulam Nabi Azad completed the rituals and installed Assembly Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy in the CM’s gaddi.
The party leadership found Kiran, a former cricketer, as the best bet to take on the rebellious Jagan as both belong to Rayalaseema region and connect with young voters. Kiran, 50, was a close confidant of YSR, though he has been maintaining a safe distance from Jagan.
With Telangana statehood agitation posing a big challenge to the ruling party, the high command has come round to the view that a strong leader with persuasive skills would be required at the helm.
This is particularly important as Justice Srikrishna Committee on Telangana issue is scheduled to submit its report by the end of December.
The decision on Rosaiah’s successor was guided by a combination of caste and political factors. Almost one-third of the 156 party Congress MLAs in the state belong to Reddy community.
“The high command strategy is clear. They want to isolate Jagan and his supporters. Bringing in a leader from Reddy community is part of this strategy,” a close confidante of Jagan and suspended APCC Secretary A Rambabu said.
The Congress has also unveiled Plan-B in case Jagan walks out of the party along with his followers. It has reached out to actor-turned-politician and president of Praja Rajyam Party Chiranjeevi to bail out the government. The PRP has 16 MLAs in the 294-member Assembly and its support will become crucial for the 156-member Congress to survive. A celebrated actor that he is, Chiranjeevi had rescued damsels in distress in several of his blockbusters. He will be required to do a political rescue act in case of a crisis.
There is also speculation that PRP may join the government and get a couple of cabinet berths in the bargain.
For Kiran, a cricketer in his student days who dreamt of making it to the national team but found himself catapulted into the hot seat to lead the state nearly three decades later, the challenges are many. As he pads up for the second innings in his new political role, he needs to marshal some of his cricketing skills to steer the state out of the turbulent times.
Soon after taking over the reins, he made the right noises and spoke of his commitment to implement YSR’s welfare programmes. He is also believed to be keen on offering cabinet berth to one YSR’s family members in a bid to take the wind out of Jagan’s sails.
“I will work towards realizing YSR’s last political wish of making Rahul Gandhi the next Prime Minister in 2014 and winning 41 Lok Sabha seats (out of total 42 in the state),” the new CM declared.
Despite being young and assertive with the right political CV, Kiran has his own set of limitations. He is not a mass leader in the mould of YSR nor does he have any administrative experience. He was never a minister. He also lacks pan-Andhra appeal.
With Telangana politics set to become more turbulent and dissidence more belligerent, the coming days will prove to be a litmus test for Kiran’s political acumen.