Hyderabad: The seething ire of the ruling YSRC in Andhra Pradesh against its own member of the Rajya Sabha, V. Vijayasai Reddy, has an underlying sad realisation of a truth – with friends like these, you don’t need enemies.
Vijayasai Reddy has been, according to party insiders and some close to the party high command, treading recklessly close to the thin line bordering on provoking and challenging the party high command.
In the process of his activities, he has been chipping away at the moral sheen built assiduously by party founder, president and AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
“One of the biggest strengths of our party today, after nearly three and a half years in power, is that we have given corruption-free governance. CM Jagan Mohan Reddy has exposed the insider trading as well as the rigged high prices of projects (in the Amaravati capital) and saved people’s money, which is now reaching them. Vijayasai Reddy, with these allegations of insider trading, has hurt the efforts of the CM,” a party insider said.
Many others were even less charitable to him, especially after his press diatribe against his own party media, Sakshi newspaper and TV, characterising them “ineffective” in combating the barrage of fake narratives being unleashed by the Opposition Telugu Desam, including his harangue against a party peer and fellow MP.
“He was made party in-charge for Visakapatnam but he made a mess of it. It was felt by many in the party that he should not be re-nominated. It was only the kindness of our CM that he ignored all issues and complaints and gave him a second lease of life,” a leader explained.
But it was Vijayasai Reddy’s activities in New Delhi that attracted attention back in the party nerve cells, especially talk that he was trying to build relationships for his own personal benefits and almost undercutting the brand of all others.
“This led to him being slowly sidelined and soon was out of favour. But now that he has publicly attacked the official media of the party and his colleagues, it may not be considered favourably,” he said.
Another aspect being discussed in the party was Vijayasai Reddy statement in a media interview to purportedly thank the party and leadership for his being nominated for Parliament for a second time.
“It was a borderline insinuation when he thanked Bharati Reddy for his nomination, along with CM Y.S. Jagan. It created a lot of anger because it was felt he was trying to insinuate she had a crucial say in controlling party matters,” the party leader explained. “This was when Jagan Reddy was going out of the way to ensure his family members stayed away from the government.”
Most leaders in the party are angry with him now, especially after his recent media conference in response to allegations of insider trading and unfair acquisition of lands, especially in Visakhapatnam.
With the party’s top leadership eyeing him with caution, most YSRC leaders not taking his claims of entering the media business seriously, his career graph looks bleak. Several leaders say that they believe he has not repaid the trust reposed in him by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy with gratitude, and has perhaps lost most of his political capital within the party.
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