Andhra Pradesh Congress leaders are expecting big changes in the party and the government soon and party chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, is expected to take stock of the political situation in the state after her return from the US within a couple of days.
The first change will most probably be the PCC chief as the present incumbent, Mr D. Srinivas’ two-year term is coming to an end soon. Besides, a change of guard is also anticipated with the party’s humiliating defeat in the recently-concluded bypolls. Names of two Congress senior leaders from Telangana, Dr Mallu Ravi and Mr Nandi Yellaiah, are making the rounds in the capital as possible candidates. With regard to changes in the Cabinet, there are two options at present under the consideration of the AICC, said sources. The first option is a total revamp by removing some and inducting others as desired by chief minister K. Rosaiah and the second is to allow him to confine himself to new inclusions only. “Some message either to effect the changes or to postpone changes indefinitely is expected,” said a former minister.
It is reliably learnt that Mr Rosaiah, during his recent meetings with Mr Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Mrs Gandhi, and Mr Veerappa Moily, in-charge of state party affairs, had conveyed that minister for social welfare, Mr Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, and the minister for mines, Mr Balineni Srinivasula Reddy, had been defiant during Mr Jaganmohan Reddy’s “odarpu yatra”. In spite of the CM’s repeated statements both in public and in private, Mr Bose had gone ahead and participated in the yatra for six days in the East Godavari district.
Mines minister Balineni Reddy, who is a close relative of Mr Jagan, has also announced that he will participate in the yatra in Praksam district from September 3.
Mr Rosaiah is worried by the statements by these two ministers as he wants to enforce discipline in the Cabinet. He, however, has been successful to a large extent as majority of the ministers have stayed away from the Kadapa MP and his vodarpu meetings.