'Jagan Mohan Reddy Will Become CM in six months'

Is it heights of optimism or absurdity? How can YS Jaganmohan Reddy become Chief Minister in six months? His sister Sharmila, the arrow shot by Jagan himself, is moving about every village on foot as part of her ‘maro praja prasthanam padayatra’and telling every one that Jagan would become Chief Minister within six months.

But the charming young lady, who is the daughter of a tall political leader the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, would have to bear in mind that her statements and observations are taken seriously by people. Can she logically explain how can her brother become the Chief Minister within six months?

Well, she will have to substantiate as to how Jagan would become the Chief Minister in six months. The leader in question is right now languishing in Chanchalguda central prison. Considering the legal and political maze he is caught in, it doesn’t appear to be easy for him to secure a bail in the near future. He also doesn’t belong to the ruling party. Who will elect him as the Chief Minister? There is hardly any doubt that  he is enjoying mass support in different parts of the State. But, how far will he and his party be able to garner support from the voters in Telangana region becomes interesting in general elections.

Unless his party manages to secure a majority seats in all three regions and also he is released at least on bail, his becoming the Chief Minister becomes well-nigh impossible Meanwhile, Sharmila is talking about the prospect of her only brother becoming the Chief Minister. Ironically, what the YSR supporters and the family don’t remember is that they are sailing against the current. They are waging a war against the mighty State, ruling party and also the main opposition, which enjoys enormous clout among media houses in Andhra Pradesh.

Against these odds, the family has an add-on nuisance in the form of YS Vijayalakshmi’s brother and former Mayor of Kadapa Ravindranath Reddy. He was accused of forgery charge and is charged with appending wrong signatures and enumerating names of non-existing persons in the electoral rolls of the recently-held cooperative elections.

After the courts of law rejected his anticipatory bail plea, he had no alternative but to surrender before the court. Therefore, he surrendered before the court in Kadapa on Tuesday and he was remanded to judicial custody until March 11. The police sought custody of the former mayor for interrogation and the court is likely to pronounce its decision before the end of Tuesday.

The bravado of YSR’s supporters that corruption charges and other criminal offences seems a bit surprising, for the people would take these things also into account before exercising their franchise. While the star campaigners of the family can allege that the cases against Jagan were foisted and politically motivated, but how would the answer the criminal cases against Ravindranath Reddy becomes interesting, if not awful.

Another pain in the neck for the family is the slew of charges of abuse of funds and also corruption in the veil of religion by Sharmila’s husband Anil Kumar and the vituperative launched against him by some BJP leaders and, of course, the proverbial thorn in the YSR family’s flesh, V Hanumantha Rao, a Congress Rajya Sabha member.