The YSR Congress and TRS can’t seem to decide between the two presidential candidates Pranab Mukherjee and P.A. Sangma. The YSR Congress has been under pressure to support Mr Sangma in the wake of several Christian organisations from the state, including the AP Federation of Churches, campaigning for Mr Sangma’s candidature but the equation changed with the Bharatiya Janata Party too supporting him on Thursday. “We might have supported Mr Sangma but for the BJP factor,” a senior party leader told this newspaper.
YSR Congress’ Central Governing Council will meet on Friday to discuss the presidential elections. “There are indications that Jagan will not take the risk of joining hands with the BJP,” the party leader said referring to the Kadapa MP’s earlier statement that he would distance himself from the saffron party.
The YSR family has never hidden its faith and indeed enjoys strong support of Christians which played a crucial role in electoral politics. In the recent elections too, the ruling Congress landed in trouble for attempting to wean away Christians from YSR Congress.
The EC had censured R&B Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao for his comments that Mrs Sonia Gandhi was the one true Christian in India.
The YSR Congress also banks heavily on the Muslim vote bank. Former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s initiatives like four per cent reservation and fee reimbursement scheme for minorities had led to Muslims overwhelmingly supporting the party.
Significantly, Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen president Mr Asaduddin Owaisi even met Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy in jail recently and appealed to him not to support the BJP candidate.
The TRS too is in a similar dilemma. The party strongly believes that it was Mr Pranab Mukherjee who had put the spokes in the Centre’s plan to form Telangana after the December 9 statement of Mr Chidambaram.