Why KVP is Spared by Kiran Kumar Reddy

In November last, when N Kiran Kumar Reddy took over as the Chief Minister of Andhra pradesh, State Advisers appointed by his predecessor YSR resigned promptly from their posts as per the convention in vogue. While Kiran Kumar Reddy last week accepted the resignations of low-profile C C Reddy (agriculture) and C S Rao (IT), the resignations of other high-profile advisers like K V P Ramachandra Rao and D A Somayajulu are kept in abeyance since November 2010.

Whispers are heard that, Kiran Kumar, apparently, is scared of KVP. In his view, KVP still has some clout with many ministers in his cabinet as well as several MLAs. The grapevine is that at least 5 ministers have requested the CM not to accept the Rajya Sabha member's resignation. Still dealing with the Jagan factor within the ruling party, the CM is not ready to handle another dissenting front and has decided to maintain status quo on the KVP front for the time being.