Kadapa Byelections: Do or Die For CM
posted on Apr 16, 2011 @ 1:05PM
Kadapa byelections have become a 'do or die' situation for the chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy. The Congress high command is reported to have told him that only a victory for the ruling party in the two seats would reflect his abilities to lead the party till the 2014 general and assembly elections. Invariably, the chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is now taking the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula assembly bypolls a bit more seriously.
Kiran Kumar Reddy returned to Hyderabad from Delhi a couple of days ago after having consultations with the party high command. He is said to have presented to them a report on the strengths of the Congress and how the party was geared up to overcome the deficiencies in the election. But the mobilisation of ministers and the efforts to win back many loyalists of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and a couple of Telugu Desam leaders into the fold of the Congress did not greatly impress Sonia. The CM was told that nothing short of a victory would be required from the state Congress and his leadership, and on this victory would depend whether he would lead the party in the next elections, the sources said.
As per sources, what makes Kiran Kumar worried is the internal assessment of the party that shows winning in Kadapa and Pulivendula seats is very tough for the Congress party. Moreover, the high command has given him a free hand in running the affairs of the state, hoping that he wouldn't disappoint them.