Certain of his impending arrest, YSR Congress Party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy has made his last ditch effort to stay out of jail. His lawyers have applied for anticipatory bail in the Nampally CBI court on Thursday. However, he did not get any immediate relief as the court posted the case to May 28.

The court has also issued notices to CBI on Jagan’s plea.

In the last few days, Jagan has been talking of his imminent arrest, dubbing the alleged move as a conspiracy of the bigwigs at the Centre and the CBI.  He seems to believe that the alleged plot was being hatched to prevent him from campaigning in the by-polls.

A landslide in these elections is likely to give a fillip to the sagging morale of the YSR Congress Party, and it is for this reason that Jagan sought time to appear after June 15 before the CBI.

With the court rejecting his plea, Jagan is convinced that the CBI or the court will take him into custody in the next few days. The imposition of Section 144 in Hyderabad further fueled his worst suspicions.

It is in this backdrop that Jagan is desperate to get an anticipatory bail. But even the most optimistic leaders in his party are not hopeful that Jagan would be able to get any relief from the courts in this regard.

Preparing for the worst, Jagan announced that his mother and YSR Congress Party honorary president Vijaya would lead the party in the by-elections.