Congress in a fix over Jagan's yatra

Congress Member of Parliament Jaganmohan Reddy's open rebellion against his party has worsened the factional politics in Andhra Pradesh. Some political experts believe that the crack in the Congress' ranks may lead to mid-term polls, while others think that the party's top brass will issue a show-cause notice to Jagan, asking him to explain his actions.

Veerappa Moily, Congress leader in charge of Andhra Pradesh, is scheduled to visit the state on Friday. He has ruled out the possibility of issuing a show-cause notice to Reddy. Moily will try to broker peace between the warring factions of the Congress' AP unit.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari has termed the recent developments as an internal matter of the party that will be sorted out soon.

The party has to appease the leaders of both factions. The Congress needs the vast experience of a veteran leader like Chief Minister K Rosaiah but it also wants to capitalise on Reddy's immense popularity among the masses.

Reddy's supporters are aware that the current yatra is being construed as yet another attempt by the son of late Chief Minister Y S Rajashekara Reddy to occupy the chief minister's chair.

"There are three people in the party who are opposed to this idea but the rest of the Congress is with us. Whichever constituency we have visited so far, we have witnessed the support of the people and of the local Congress legislators," said a Reddy loyalist.

Moily's first task would be to stop the yatra before the Opposition parties start capitalising on the internal strife in the party. The Congress doesn't want to end up with mid-term elections, especially with the Telangana issue hanging like a Damocles' sword.

But Reddy, who may be willing to talk to Congress leaders to find a way out of the impasse, is unlikely to stop the rally. He is all set to start the second leg of his journey in Nellore and Prakasam districts of the state.

"There is no question of canceling the rally and we maintain that this rally is not political in nature," said a source close to Reddy.

Reddy's detractors feel that he is trying to hog the limelight to get to the chief ministerial post. Leaders like V Hanumantha Rao, who have been critical of the yatra, believe that it is turning out to be a political stunt. These Congress leaders believe that the party needs to project a united face during the countdown to the Telangana by-elections, as it might lose each and every seat due to the simmering discontent in the region.

Reddy has clarified that he doesn't plan to include Telangana during his yatra, as he had faced violent protests the last time he visited the region.