Jagan has already become a force to reckon with in Andhra and Rayalaseema. He is now focusing on Telangana to strengthen YSR Congress Party. The young leader has been spending enormous amount of time on his Odarpu yatra in coastal region. Now, he is looking at Telangana for consolidation in view of the upcoming by-polls.
The late YSR has a strong following in Telangana and Jagan is preparing to strengthen this support base. Presently, Konda Surekha, Mahender Reddy, Gone Prakash Rao, Janak Prasad and Bajireddy Govardhan are the only visible leaders in T region for Jagan. But many Congress leaders here are indirectly supporting Jagan, and have been waiting for the right time to join him formally.
Prominent among them are Komatireddy brothers in Nalgonda district. Even Damodar Reddy of Mahabubnagar, a likely candidate for Congress in Nagarkurnool by-poll, is another. As YSR Congress Party formally announced that it would contest all by-polls, the rush to join the ranks of Jagan will only increase.
YSR Congress Party’s stand on Telangana, which is not very different from TDP, initially caused a bit of embarrassment for Jagan. However, he now seems to have overcome this snag with leaders in the region slowly coming out of their shell. TDP’s Boda Janardhan, former minister from Adilabad, is the latest to join Jagan bandwagon.
Jagan’s formal foray into Telangana will start with his proposed Raithu Chaitanya Yatra and related programs, which will kick off on Dec 23. Jagan himself might take time to visit Telangana but the party meanwhile is set to make its presence in the region.
With TRS not overtly against Jagan – unlike in the Manukonda episode -, the YSR Congress Party leader may not have too many issues this time round in Telangana.
