Quote:The situation seems to be precariously fluid as the Congress has a thin majority with 156 members in 294-member Assembly. While Jagan camp has claimed the support of as many as 36 legislators, the Congress leadership has put the number at 10 to 12.



Even if Congress’ official estimate was correct, it was sufficient to destabilise the Kiran Kumar Reddy-led Government, if Jagan wishes so. Even if 12 legislators walk out with Jagan, it will reduce the State Government to a minority as it will be left with 144 members, four less than the simple majority. Congress has apparently done its home work in advance and is ready to rope in film star Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party which has 18 MLAs. But two of them had revolted and their position was still not clear.

Quote:HYDERABAD: Faced with an onslaught from Jaganmohan Reddy, the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh is going back to the basics. Traditionally seen as a party representing the interests of the landowning Reddy community, the Congress is now going to emphasize on its Congress roots in the new political scenario in the state.



This is a change from the situation in the last few months when the Rosaiah regime was seen as buiiding up a non-Reddy coalition with Kammas and Vaishyas and other OBCs. In fact it was opposition from the Reddys that ultimately led to the ouster of Rosaiah. "But now the Congress proposes to go back on its traditional support base. The time-tested formula is expected to serve it the best," an analyst from the Congress camp said.



Though the Congress in Andhra Pradesh has been headed by the Reddys, it also has had Kapus (a cultivator caste) and Malas (a section of the Dalits) as junior partners in the alliance. In the run-up to the 2009 elections, the Kapus (now economically empowered as compared to the past) sought their place in the sun by floating their own political outfit. This is Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party. Though this party was not a spectacular success, it did win 18 seats and also 18 per cent of the popular votes.



"For a new party, this is a significant vote share," an analyst pointed out. Now the Congress to prevent the erosion of its Kapu base is offering an alliance to the PRP by inducting members of Chiranjeevi's party into the govermment. This is expected to keep the old poltical matrix intact. At the same time, to ensure that the Dalits do not leave the Congress, the Kiran Kumar Reddy government is expected to have a Scheduled Caste deputy chief minister. This will keep the Dalit votes also with the government.



More significantly, all this will make life a wee bit difficult for Jagan. With Reddy interests firmly with the Congress, young Jagan will find it difficult to wean away supporters from the Reddy community to his new outfit. This will be a setback for him because most of his supporters are from the Reddy ranks. How important the Reddys are for the Congress can be seen from the fact that of the 11 Congress chief ministers in the state, 8 have been Reddys.



"Starting with Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy who later became President of India to Kiran Kumar Reddy, most of them have been Reddys. A notable exception was P V Narasimha Rao who later became the Prime Minister," an analyst said.



Interestingly, in percentage terms Reddys just comprise 6 per cent of the population while Kapus are around 20 per cent. The Kapus are however not a homogeneous group. The Dalits form around 11 per cent of the population. The other major caste - the Kammas - are with the rival Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The Kammas amongst the richest of communities comprise a mere 5 per cent of the total population.

Quote:Already eyebrows were being raised. Sonia scuttled YSR’s plan to get his brother Vivekananda Reddy to resign his Lok Sabha seat in 2005 so that Jagan could enter active politics. The son’s fortunes changed dramatically the moment YSR died in a plane crash 15 months ago.



If Jagan is acutely sensitive about it, Rajasekhar Reddy was no less touchy when it came to his offspring.



Once when the Assembly was debating the Satyam scandal, someone alleged that Ramalinga Raju had sponsored Chandrababu Naidu’s stint at Stanford University. That prompted an Opposition member to snidely mention how Jagan too had been sent to the US for studies but had come back in quick time like “return post”.



“My son came back because of homesickness,” an angry YSR immediately shot back.



The proud father had carefully charted Jagan’s progress since his late teens, initiating him into family businesses even before the boy had earned his BCom. “Even as a matriculate, my son was an income-tax payer,” YSR would boast.



Jagan ran the bauxite mines of Vijayalakshmi Mining Ltd, named after his mother, in Kadapa. Pulivendula and Kadapa shivered when he arrived in his motorcade of Innovas and Qualises, accompanied by 10 to 20 members of his young supporters.



Soon, Jagan became a civil contractor and acquired stakes in several hydel and thermal projects in north India and Karnataka, such as the Saraswati hydel project near Sandur in the southern state.



After YSR became chief minister, Jagan is said to have become a partner in steel, cement and paper factories in Kadapa run by the Reddy brothers of Bellary for a time.



Journalists and politicians close to Jagan spoke of his ambition to become one of India’s top industrialists and his plans to build e-services across rural Andhra. YSR himself was planning to set up a technology and agriculture commission with Jagan as its chairman with cabinet rank.



Jagan’s profile on the Lok Sabha website attributes to him social and cultural activities as well as literary, artistic and scientific accomplishments. It says he had visited Israel, Singapore, Switzerland, Britain and America with his father.



YSR had created what was known as an “executive group” devoted to furthering Jagan’s political career. It included IAS and IPS officers and the ministers for industry, agriculture and home.



After YSR’s death, it took K. Rosaiah almost a year to break this group’s stranglehold on land allotments and on postings in the police and tax departments.

Quote:Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy had decided to leave the Congress as early as June this year, after he saw his mother Y S Vijayalakshmi weep in front of an unmoved Sonia Gandhi, the rebel camp claimed today.



According to close aides of Jagan, the wife of the late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy broke down while repeatedly begging Sonia to allow her son to continue his Odarpu Yatra “for peace to his father’s soul”.



“So what?” Sonia is said to have snapped as Vijayalakshmi pleaded that Jagan had promised to visit the families of those who had died after hearing news of YSR’s death. The incident reportedly took place on June 29.



When asked for a confirmation of the story, Ambati Rambabu, a close associate of Jagan, told The Indian Express: “Jaganmohan Reddy, his mother and sister had gone to New Delhi to meet Sonia Gandhi to request her not to stop his Odarpu Yatra. When the Congress president rejected her repeated pleas to allow her son to go ahead, she (Vijayalakshmi) started weeping. But it had no effect on Sonia who said that he (Jagan) should either call all bereaved families to Hyderabad or to the district headquarters.”



According to the Jagan camp, the rebel MP was “very moved and upset” to see his mother shed tears in vain. “The family’s ties with the party high command snapped on that day. After that, it was only a matter of time before Jagan would formally break ties with the party,” said an aide.



In his letter to Sonia announcing his and his mother’s resignations, Jagan said, “My mother Vijayalakshmi addressed a letter to you seeking your appointment to explain the necessity of Odarpu Yatra. We could get your appointment only a month later whereas some new friends who had opposed the Congress party and yourself could get your audience within 24 hours. Is it not discrimination against the family?”



He did not refer to what had transpired at that meeting.



The Congress described the claims of Jagan’s aides as “feverish imagination”.



“It is not our remit to respond to feverish imagination. All that we would like to say is that history has time and again shown that the party is above an individual. Various leaders who left the Congress at different points of time came back knocking on the door of the Congress party with an application in hand,” party spokesman Manish Tewari said.



Union minister and AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, M Veerappa Moily, said, “It is very unfortunate. Highest respect was given by the party to the family of YSR after his death. In the last one year Jagan went against the party but we tolerated his anti-party activities. No one is above the party. There is no justification for the step that he has taken now.”



Asked if the party would make an attempt to bring him back, Moily said, “We have not decided anything so far but the Congress is not responsible for his deeds.”

Quote:US Consul General floored by ‘Arabi daf'



J.S. Ifthekhar





HYDERABAD: Few could resist the rhythmic beat of the ‘Arabi daf'. The foot tapping teen-mar makes one sway almost involuntarily.



It was no different with Katherine Dhanani, the US Consul General. Far from getting annoyed, she simply gave in to the music that washed over her.



{Shades of Akbar swooning to sufi music in the film Jodha Akbar!}



It was a different kind of an experience for Ms. Dhanani when she visited Barkas in the Old City on Tuesday.



Traditional welcome



Did she enjoy the traditional welcome accorded to her? Boy she sure did. One had to just see the glint in her eyes and her glowing countenance to know.



The people of Barkas, under the aegis of the Deccan Democratic Club, gave the customary at home to the new Consul General. :?:



The ‘Arabi daf' troupe was on hand to give the typical reception.



Donning white T-shirts and ‘lungies' with the red scarf for headgear, the band belted out the Arabic tune ‘Alila gam ya baya bam ..' As the beat increased in cadence steadily, the local Yemni crowed broke into a slow jig.





Accompanied by Mathew B. Stannard, Vice-Consul, Ms. Dhanani turned up in a black ‘kurthi-pyjama' with a pink scarf draped over her head. Of course she had to struggle to keep it from slipping away.



“We wanted to show the local culture and also dispel the misgivings about Muslims,” said Habeeb Mohsin, the man behind the show. :?:



{How can belting out Arabic tunes and Yemeni yelps eqaute of local culture?}



Understanding culture



The welcome over, Ms. Dhanani spent some time with the Barkas elders trying to understand their culture. She was also served Hyderabadi delicacies.



But she didn't plump for the biryani, mirchi ka salan, chicken 65 course. Instead, she partook of ‘marag' (mutton soup), ‘mahmooz' (mutton masala) and ‘paratha'.



“The local community is vibrant and I am happy to meet the people here”, remarked Ms. Dhanani.



She was all smiles when an English copy of the holy Quran was presented to her.



Diversity



She was pleased with the rich diversity of Hyderabad and said India and US had many commonalities.