The honourable rebirth of YSR in Andhra Pradesh

In what is a case of kabhi haan kabhi na with the Congress when it comes to the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, the majority view within the ruling party seems to be that treating the former chief minister like a pariah is not reaping any political dividends for the party. On the backfoot ever since the CBI probe associated the YSR regime with widespread corruption and loot, the Congress had thought it wise to slowly wipe off the YSR imprint from the Congress rule in Andhra Pradesh. And why not? Senior bureaucrats who were all-powerful during YSR’s reign found their status changed to residents of the Chanchalguda central prison in Hyderabad, thanks to controversial decisions they had taken between 2004 and 2009. [caption id=“attachment_449033” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Somewhere, YSR must be smiling: PTI[/caption] And along with Jaganmohan Reddy, many ministers also found themselves in the eye of the storm for issuing government orders that reportedly favored YSR’s son’s business interests. No wonder then, that Congress leaders in the state were instructed not to invoke the YSR name, and propagate the message that he was merely fulfilling the Congress welfare agenda. But having seen YSR’s son Jagan hijacking the same legacy successfully and using it to get votes in successive by-elections, the Congress seems to have decided to re-adopt YSR. That is how a galaxy of Congress leaders at the Central level in Delhi and from Andhra Pradesh made it a point to be part of the chorus that paid tribute to YSR on Friday. The occasion was the release of a diary that YSR had apparently written during his padyatra in the summer of 2003 and was brought out by his friend, KVP Ramachandra Rao. Leader after leader praised YSR’s leadership qualities and stressed the fact that he had never defied the party diktat. The attempt clearly to point out the difference between the father and his `impatient’ and `defiant’ son. The speeches were directed at undertrial number 6093 in Chanchalguda in Hyderabad – Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. That some kind of deal is being worked out between the Congress and the YSR Congress is obvious. The Congress realizes it is on a weak wicket both in Delhi and Hyderabad, and with opinion polls predicting a good showing by Jagan’s outfit if elections were to be held now, the party is busy building bridges. While the Telugu Desam believes the return of the prodigal son is around the corner, it may take some time in coming, given the bitter separation that took place between Jagan and Sonia Gandhi. But politics makes for strange bedfellows and with Jagan eager to get the CBI off his back, a quid pro quo cannot be ruled out. Ironic considering that it was allegations of quid pro quo that landed the CBI at Jagan’s doorstep in the first place. By claiming YSR as one of its own, the Congress would also find it difficult to level corruption charges against Jagan. It cannot label the son as corrupt and the father as clean given that Jagan held no official position between 2004 and 2009. This realization has also arisen from the fact that internal surveys have indicated that closer to the elections, there could be a mass exodus from the Congress to Jagan’s party. Already, just about every leader is suspiciously looked upon as a possible Jagan convert. But not everyone in the Congress wants to sing the YSR bhajan. Among them is Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao, who wants the party to brainstorm on another way forward in Andhra Pradesh in the post-YSR era. A known Jagan and YSR baiter, VHR has always projected himself as a 10 Janpath man, something that breathes oxygen to this rootless politician’s career. While the Congress does a tightrope walk on YSR, the Telugu Desam has decided to take a leaf out of YSR’s book. Its leader, Chandrababu Naidu will embark on a 2320 km long padyatra on 2 October  through all districts of the state. The ambitious plan will take 117 days and will end on 26 January , 2013. The IT-savvy former chief minister seems to have decided that `connecting people’ virtually doesn’t translate into votes. But Naidu is touchy about being accused of behaving like a Samsung to an Apple. He is in the `my shirt is more white than yours’ syndrome, pointing out that YSR walked only 1475 km through eleven districts. Naidu would hope his ‘such a long journey’ will earn him the keys to the Secretariat in Hyderabad. Somewhere, in another world, YSR must be smiling.