CM going to Delhi amidst rumors of change of guard

Under summons from the Congress High Command and amidst rumors of change of guard, Chief Minister N Kirankumar Reddy is leaving for New Delhi tomorrow evening.

He is likely to go to the pilgrim centre of Puttaparthi and from there he will go to Bengaluru to leave for Delhi by air, sources in Hyderabad said.
Though Congress sources in the State argue that Kirankumar Reddy is visiting Delhi to take part in a party rally being organized there, they however, did not deny that change of guard is not there on the agenda of the Congress leadership.
It is not immediately known that how long the Chief Minister will be in Delhi. But he has reportedly cancelled his visit to Chittoor, his home district, scheduled for November 4 and 5. The High Command has reportedly asked the Chief Minister to suspend all his scheduled programmes and rush to New Delhi, party sources said adding that this is raising doubts that the national leadership is serious about the change of guard in the State.
Some senior leaders even mentioned the recent reports that the High Command will now shift its focus on strengthening the party in the State after the Union Cabinet reshuffle. That the High Command had asked Kiran to rush to Delhi by cancelling all his programmes only adds more credibility to the reports of the change of the Chief Minister, the sources observed.
As the news of Kiran’s sudden Delhi trip spread, Congress circles in the State have begun speculating as to who will replace him. While some leaders claim that former chief minister late Marri Chenna Reddy’s son and Sanathnagar MLA Sasidhar Reddy is the front runner for the hot seat, others are of the opinion that Minister for Panchayat Raj K Jana Reddy, who is in the good books of the national leadership, will be the choice of the High Command.
Party sources in Hyderabad strongly believe that the mantle will fall on Sasidhar Reddy, who is currently holding the post of the vice chairman of the National Disaster Management, as he is the son of a former chief minister and also highly educated. “Congress president Sonia Gandhi considers Marri Sasidhar Reddy as the right choice for the post at this crucial juncture when the separate Telangana movement has reached its peak. Since Sasidhar is a strong advocate of an integrated State, naturally there will not be any opposition to his candidature from the leaders of Seemandhra too,” the leaders argue.
Going a step further, the leaders even presume that Kiran will be absorbed into the post that Sasidhar is now holding and vice versa. “No doubt there were reports that in the event of any change in the State, Kiran will be taken into the Union Cabinet. Since the rejig is now complete there is no question of now taking Kiran into the Union Ministry. Thus, he will be given the responsibility of the post now Sasidhar is holding,” they aver.
In the case of Jana Reddy, the leaders feel that the Minister for Panchayat Raj has identified himself with the separate state movement, which will weigh heavily against him. However, he is a close confidante of Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, who holds considerable clout in the High Command and he (Jaipal) can easily tilt the balance towards Jana, the leader admit.
But the Congress now wants to send a strong message to the public in the State that the party will never ignore the offspring of the former chief ministers. They even mention that Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy, the son of former chief minister Vijaya Bhasker Reddy, has already been accommodated into the Union Ministry and by giving a chance to Sasidhar Reddy the Congress national leadership can claim before the voters that had Y S Jaganmohan Reddy not left the Congress he too would have got a similar opportunity.
Thus, Sasidhar Reddy stands better chances to replace Kiran in the even of any decision to change the leadership in the State, the party leaders argue. Besides, sending such a strong message into the public is imperative for the Congress at this crucial juncture.
There are also reports of a possible change in the PCC if the High Command decides to effect any change of guard in the State. It remains to be seen whether the Congress national leadership will take a decision at all at this stage.

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