Jagan party within a week

The `Jaganaut' is all set to roll. To be called either YSR Congress Party or YSR Rashtriya Congress Party, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy will announce the name of his party at a press conference in the state capital in less than a week's time.

According to sources in the Jagan camp, the new party will be launched from Idupulapaya in Kadapa district in the first week of February. "The groundwork for the launch of the party has already begun and the objectives of the party are being worked out," the sources said.

Apart from the MPs and MLAs who are with Jagan, senior Congress leaders such as Ambati Rambabu (suspended APCC general secretary), Konatala Ramakrishna (former Congress minister) Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy (suspended PCC secretary) Y Gopal Reddy (suspended Nellore district Congress president), Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy (former TTD trust board member) and Bhumana Karunakar Reddy (former TTD chairman) are actively involved in the pre-launch work of the new party.

Since YSR Congress is one of the names that has been shortlisted for the party, Jagan representatives are in touch with Kolisetty Shiva Kumar, a YSR loyalist from Kadapa who has registered a party by that name in September last year and is its founder president. However, the catch is that Shiva Kumar wants a key post for himself and due recognition for "leaders of his party.'' "I am an ardent follower of YSR. To ensure that his dreams are realised, I want due importance in the party. This is the only condition I set to the representatives of Jagan," Shiva Kumar told TOI.

As per indications available, Jagan wants to wean away the BC leaders and workers from the Congress and the TDP by offering them 50 per cent of the seats in the ensuing elections to the local bodies."Backward Castes have got a raw deal in the Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet, both in terms of numbers and allocation of portfolios. So our leaders wants to assure them that his party would take care of their interests on the basis of the BC population in the various constituencies," an aide of Jagan told TOI.

Jagan's approach to Telangana will be neutral. The party will not touch upon the subject of either Telangana or united Andhra. "We are not in a position either to stall or aid the process of creation of Telangana. If the state is united, it is ok. If it is bifurcated, we will form the party in both the regions," the aide added.

Though initially upset by the appointment of a Rayalaseema Reddy as CM, the bickerings in the cabinet over the distribution of portfolios seem to have enthused the Jagan camp. "The cracks that developed in the cabinet are irreparable. The number of MLAs who are in touch with Jagan is on the rise after the cabinet fiasco by the chief minister," sources in the Jagan camp claimed.

The sources also said Jagan will not be the only one to enter the assembly in the next byelections. "At least half a dozen MLAs, such as Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, Pilli Subash Chandra Bose, Ghandikota Srikanth Reddy and B Gurnatha Reddy are expected to resign from the assembly and return to the House as the members of the new party," the sources said. According to sources, some resignations from among the MPs also could not be ruled out.