The "REBEL" in a fix

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: He may have been branded a "rebel" but 36-year-old Member of Parliament from Kadapa, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, has now actually been reduced to a man suffering in silence in more ways than one.

While cervical spondilitis is Jagan's physical tormentor, the Congress politics has become a biggest mental block for him.

Enduring the physical pain might seem trivial, compared to the mental agony of having to remain indecisive on his future political course.

His uncle and Member of Legislative Council, Y S Vivekananda Reddy, has now rubbed salt into Jagan’s injury by offering to “patch up” the strained relationship between his nephew and the Congress high command by “expressing our regret over the episodes telecast on Sakshi television channel.”

Vivekananda’s “impulsive action” has only left Jagan more embarrassed even as his camp tried to do some damage control by announcing that their leader had done nothing wrong that warranted any “explanation” to the high command. By disowning Vivekananda’s statement, his camp desperately sought to send a message that Jagan “would never surrender” to anyone.

Now, Jagan will have to spend time at least till Wednesday waiting agonizingly to make up his mind on whether or not to continue in the Congress party, what with the constitution of the state Council of Ministers likely to happen only that day.

Jagan is anxiously awaiting the formation of the state Cabinet to assess his standing in the scheme of things in the Congress and chalk out his future path, his campers say.

Most of the 20-odd MLAs, who continue to swear by Jagan, are now busy camping in New Delhi lobbying intensely for ministerial posts. One of his close followers and former minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose claimed he would not join Kiran Kumar Reddy’s Cabinet after it became clear that he would face the axe for having defied the party high command, along with another former minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, on the Odarpu Yatra issue.

The Congress high command is also keeping Jagan on tenterhooks by being indecisive on the action, if any, it intends to take against him for targeting the party and its leadership through his media.

The nearly two-month long "Odarpu Yatra" he undertook in Prakasam and Nellore districts from September 3 had in fact taken a heavy toll on this indutrialist-turned-politician's body that he has now been advised "complete bed rest" at least for two months.

“He may resume his yatra subsequently but not in the fashion he did in the last leg covering thousands of kilometres for hours on end in the two districts. Such strenuous touring can prove dangerous for him given his current condition,” a senior doctor attending on him revealed.

This has become a worrying factor for the belligerent MP who obviously can’t go back on the promise of continuing his yatra from January next to console families whose members either died of shock or allegedly committed suicide following the death of Jagan’s father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

Putting off or delaying the yatra inordinately in view of his bad health will adversely affect Jagan’s ambitious political plans since he has set his eyes on the Chief Minister’s chair alone.

Given these factors, Jagan is unable to go ahead with his plans or maintain status quo and clearly looks caught in a Catch-22 situation.