JAGAN'S CAREER GRAPH

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: From a small-time businessman to a formidable political leader, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy -- better known as Jagan -- had a rather smooth ride in over a decade before he hit a biggest bump in his life now.

The only son of late Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Jagan began his business career in 1999-2000 by establishing a tiny power company Sandur in neighbouring Karnataka.

His business graph rose meteorically once his father became the state Chief Minister in 2004 and Jagan started venturing into many other businesses including cement plants, infrastructure and media.

Jagan's political ambitions were first revealed in late 2004 when he aspired to become an MP from his home turf Kadapa but the Congress high command nipped that in the bud. He had to wait till 2009 to fulfil  his dream and make a formal political debut by winning the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat.

His father's tragic death in a helicopter crash in September 2009, litreally changed everything for Jagan. 

He wanted to succeed his late father to the Chief Minister's throne but the Congress high command was unwilling to grant him the wish despite a majority of legislators rallying behind him at that point. 

Disillusioned, Jagan gradually began defying the Congress bosses and, by early 2010 was meticulously charting his own course.

He took the 'Odarpu Yatra' path to build his political career independently, much to the discomfiture of the ruling party.

Jagan's emergence as a "leader" began with the Odarpu Yatra as he went round villages and districts to console families that lost their kin in the aftermath of YSR's sudden death. In no time, his popularity graph shot upwards while that of the ruling Congress' dipped gradually.

As the Congress objected to his yatra and rejected "permission", Jagan decided to snap his association with the party.

The flashpoint came in November 2010 when the Congress made N Kiran Kumar Reddy the Chief Minister of AP in place of ageing K Rosaiah in an ostensible bid to effectively counter Jagan.

On November 29, 2010, Jagan called it quits and walked out of the Congress, which his father loyally served for three decades, and also resigned from his Lok Sabha membership.

In March 2011, Jagan announced the setting up of his own Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress -- YSR Congress -- throwing a challenge primarily at Congress and also Telugu Desam Party.

He won the by-election to Kadapa Lok Sabha seat with a record margin of over five lakh votes in May 2011 while his mother Y S Vijaya won the Pulivendula Assembly seat in an emphatic fashion.

Ever since, the YSR Congress became the thorn in the flesh of the Congress particularly in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions of the state.

The Congress survived a biggest scare to its government in December last when 16 of its MLAs -- owing allegiance to Jagan -- voted in support of a no-confidence motion moved by the TDP but the (erstwhile) Praja Rajyam and Majlis parties saved the day.

In the by-elections in March, the Congress faced a complete rout when it lost all the seven seats, six of them in Telangana and one in coastal Andhra. By winning the lone seat in coastal Andhra, the YSR Congress sent the first warning signal to the Congress as well as the TDP on the things in store.

Now, as the state heads for by-elections to one Lok Sabha and 18 Assembly seats on June 12, the YSR Congress is the clear favourite to win the elections, which could spell doom for the Congress government.

Jagan has now set his eyes clearly on the Chief Minister's chair and appears confident of making it to the hot seat in the next general elections to the state Assembly whenever they are held. He may not have to wait till 2014 for that.

Future Ominous for Congress and TDP

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: The writing on the wall has become clearer for the ruling Congress and the principal opposition Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh: they are facing a serious survival threat.

Results of the by-elections to seven Assembly constituencies clearly established that fortunes of these two major parties are on the wane.

Both parties contested all the seven seats in the by-elections but could not win even one.

Also, the resounding success of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti at the cost of the Congress and the TDP, has reaffirmed that the demand for a separate Telangana state cannot be wished away.

Last but not the least, victory of YSR Congress candidate N Prasanna Kumar Reddy in Kovur in coastal Andhra region is an indicator of things to come when the state will see another round of by-polls to 18 Assembly constituencies and one Lok Sabha seat in the next few months.

The YSRC is emerging a force to reckon with in the state politics, an ominous sign for both the Congress and the TDP.

That the "Telangana sentiment" won in the six segments in the region need not be re-emphasised. The TRS (four), the BJP (one) and even the lone Independent candidate won on the Telangana plank.

It was a morale-boosting victory for the BJP (in the single seat it contested) in a see-saw battle in Mahbubnagar where it beat the TRS by a margin of 1897 votes, leaving the Congress and the TDP in third and fourth positions. The BJP could win the voters' confidence by convincing them that it alone could deliver a separate state. The BJP got the better of TRS despite the fact that the latter too was "championing" of the cause of separate state. "We could convince people that Telangana state is possible only through BJP and hence they voted for us," party state president G Kishan Reddy noted.

On a personal front, it's a serious setback for TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao as he could not ensure victory of his party candidate in Mahbubnagar, that falls under the Lok Sabha constituency he represents.

The government employees, who have been playing a key part in the statehood movement, reposed their faith in the BJP rather than the TRS, thereby turning the tide against KCR.

The Mahbubnagar result could well mark the resurgence of BJP at least in the Telangana region in the state, a factor that could be detrimental to the TRS in future.

The Congress and the TDP that refused to acknowledge the Telangana factor were made to bite the dust. The saving grace for the ruling party was the second position it secured in four out of six segments in Telangana while the TDP was relegated to the third place in four seats. Only in Station Ghanpur did the TDP manage to finish as the runner-up but in Mahbubnagar it ended up a distant fourth.

So severe was the drubbing for TDP that its candidates lost deposits in Kamareddy and Nagarkurnool segments. Ironically, these two seats were won by the TDP in 2009 but the MLAs quit the party last year protesting its ambivalent stand on the statehood issue.

The TDP also lost the Adilabad seat which it previously held.

For the Congress, it was a loss of two seats -- Station Ghanpur and Kollapur -- as its MLAs defected to the TRS late last year, protesting the Centre's dilly-dallying on Telangana.

In Kovur in coastal Andhra, the YSR Congress won as expected though the margin of victory (23,496 votes) was much less than anticipated. Defeat in Kovur meant reduction of one more seat in the TDP's kitty as Prasanna Kumar previously represented the party.

In all the TDP lost six MLAs since 2009, bringing its tally down from 92 to 86 in the state Assembly. The principal opposition did not win a single seat in the by-elections to 18 seats in all in Telangana in 2010 and now.

With the victory of four candidates in the by-elections, the TRS' head count will rise to 16 besides an associate member while the BJP's strength increases to three.

The twist in the T drama

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: There was a rather unexpected change in the script of the resignation drama by Telangana legislators today.

The drama was enacted yesterday as per the script, written and directed by separatist leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, but the play began drifting since midnight when he himself was forced to jump into the act.

Though not in the original script, the second part too had to be played out today with new players coming in.

After the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party MLAs tendered resignations from their posts yesterday, Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhar Rao himself decided to jump into the battlefield and promptly faxed his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker in the middle of the night.

By day break, his fellow MP Vijayasanthi too followed suit while state Minister P Shankar Rao, who was on a trip to the US, also faxed his resignation to the Assembly Deputy Speaker.

The entire act was supposed to cause tremors in New Delhi so that it breaks the ground for Telangana. But, the impact turned out to be low in intensity.

With clear indications emanating from New Delhi that the Government of India was in no mood to concede the demand for a separate state anytime now, jittery TRS legislators too started making their moves towards resignation.

Around the same time, the Communist Party of India MLAs too mulled over the resignations while the Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs got the go ahead from their national leadership to quit.

In quick succession, the TRS and the CPI MLAs took their turns in submitting their resignations to the Legislature Secretary in the absence of House Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The head count rose to 98 with all these legislators, including 12 ministers, putting in their papers demanding nothing but a separate Telangana state.

The two BJP MLAs completed the formality late in the evening and took the count to an exact 100, out of the total 119 from the region.

While 10 of the 19 left out belonged to the Congress, seven were from the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and one each from the CPM and the Lok Satta Party. The MIM, CPM and Lok Satta, incidentally, are known supporters of a unified Andhra Pradesh.

As the drama continues, one question that crosses the mind is: "What would be the climax?"

Now, whether the drama ends in a climax -- as the script-writer wished -- or in an anti-climax is the "suspense" element in this sordid tale.

CHIRANJEEVI BIDS ADIEU TO FILMS

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: Telugu Megastar Chiranjeevi has called it quits as an actor.

The announcement came from the Megastar himself here tonight at a time when millions of his fans have been awaiting his 150^th movie venture, supposed to be produced by his actor-son Ram Charan Tej.

“Since I am busy with politics, it would not be appropriate for me to don the grease paint again. My son Charan is there to fill the gap,” Chiranjeevi replied when a spectator wanted to know about the proposed 150^th film, at the launch of UTV’s Action Telugu movie channel here tonight.

Replying to a question on whether he would don the role of a politician or Chief Minister in his future film, Chiranjeevi quipped: “Why in cinema? People are feel I can become the Chief Minister in real life itself.”

The actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi claimed that people of Andhra Pradesh were longing to see him as state Chief Minister in real life rather than in reel life.
Chiranjeevi announced in December last that he would don the grease paint once again for his 150th film to be produced by his actor-son Ram Charan Tej.
But that project did not take off because of the political developments in the state as well as his Praja Rajyam Party's merger move with the Congress.
Chiranjeevi's announcement today assumes significance as there are indications that he may be inducted either into the state Cabinet or even the Union Cabinet in the next round of reshuffle.

Chiranjeevi, a self-made star in Telugu cinema, quit films after a 30-year career in August 2008 to float the Praja Rajyam Party. While announcing the launch of his party, Chiranjeevi indicated that he would continue to act in films – “my first love” – even after turning a politician but would play only message-oriented roles in tune with his new stature.

Chiranjeevi, however, became a ‘flop star’ as his party was trounced in the 2009 general elections, thereby dashing his hopes of becoming the state Chief Minister.

With a 17 per cent vote share and 18 MLAs, the PRP, however, could become the third largest group in the AP Assembly.

In February this year, Chiranjeevi suddenly decided to merge his PRP with the ruling Congress and, since then, had been busy completing the formalities.

PRAJA RAJYAM: THE END

DESARAJU SURYA

Hyderabad: Praja Rajyam Party is no more. The PRP’s end has come today with the Election Commission of India formally approving its merger with the ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh.

The 34-month-old party’s merger with the 125-year-old party was on cards since February this year but technical formalities delayed the process so far.

The 17 PRP MLAs would now add solidity to the Congress government in AP that had been surviving on a wafer-thin majority over the last two years.

Telugu Mega Star Konidela Chiranjeevi launched the Praja Rajyam Party in the temple-town Tirupati on August 26, 2008 with “social justice” as its theme and the promise of ushering in a “change” in the political scene in the state as well as the lives of people.

“I shall usher in the change that people of Andhra Pradesh have been longing for and turn the state into ‘Santoshaandhra Pradesh’ (the state of happiness),” Chiranjeevi vowed while inaugurating Praja Rajyam Party.

The party, however, received a drubbing at the hustings in 2009, having won only 18 out of 294 seats in the AP Assembly, though it polled 70 lakh votes across the regions.

The party has been left in virtual disarray as one senior leader after the other walked out following the electoral debacle.

It was also reduced into a non-entity in the Telangana region after Chiranjeevi changed his stance in favour of unified Andhra Pradesh after supporting “social Telangana” earlier.

This caused a small rebellion in the party with its two MLAs from Telangana falling away with Chiranjeevi. On the other hand, two MLAs from Kurnool district of Rayalaseema started sailing with rebel leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy much to the discomfiture of Chiranjeevi.

Chiranjeevi’s announcement of a merger of PRP with Congress came as a blessing in disguise with the two Telangana legislators returning to its fold. One of the two rebel MLAs from Rayalaseema too buried the hatchet with Chiranjeevi after the PRP initiated disqualification proceedings.

Now, only Sobha Nagi Reddy is continuing in the Jagan camp even as the disqualification procedure against her is on.

There has been speculation for sometime now that the PRP would be accommodated in the state Cabinet following the merger move. It appears certain but the number of slots the PRP would get is still unclear.

Announcing the PRP’s merger with the Congress in February, Chiranjeevi had said he would strive hard to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

“I shall not forget my responsibilities just because I have merged the party with Congress. I am committed to the principle of social justice and my fight against corruption will continue forever. I will always take the lead in supporting the aspirations of the poor and the needy," he had said then.

Chiranjeevi was a self-made star – one who rose to become the Megastar of Telugu films in a career that spanned 30 years. He was a dancing and fighting sensation, a trend-setter in Telugu tinsel town.

He faced many defeats in his three-decade old career in the film industry but he always bounced back to firm up his position on the top.

Politics was a totally different script for him and he was a “reluctant politician” who was allegedly “forced” into the hotbed of politics in politically-conscious Andhra Pradesh.

It was rather a tame and unexpected end for his party, though politically not for him yet.