Whether or not former Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy will launch his new political party will be clear in the next two days as further consultations with Congress Ministers and legislators are slated on Monday.
There is intense pressure from the expelled Congress MPs that Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy launch his party as he would certainly attract a cross section of the society, which is impressed by his desperate fight against division of the State.
On Sunday, Mr. Kiran Kumar was closeted with six expelled MPs – G. V. Harsha Kumar, Vundavalli Arun Kumar, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, Lagadapati Rajagopal, A. Saipratap and Sabbam Hari to discuss the formation of new party. During the over two-hour long meeting, MPs were very clear that a major section of the disgruntled Congress MLAs from Seemandhra finding their future bleak in wake of division were inclined to sail with the new party. Sources said the MPs urged Mr. Reddy not to think on the lines of taking voluntary retirement from politics. The former Chief Minister is said to have remarked that he would hold some more consultations before taking the final call.
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Amalapuram MP G. V. Harsha Kumar told reporters after the meeting that clarity on the new party would come in two days. “People want a new political party in wake of division of the State,” he said adding that the MPs were also keen that Mr. Reddy should lead them. “He is going to hold a meeting with Ministers and MLAs on Monday,” Mr. Harsha Kumar said.
Sources in Mr. Reddy’s camp told The Hindu on Sunday that he would hold meetings with retired bureaucrats, intellectuals, academics, youth organisations and civil society members before announcing his decision. “Once a broad consensus is arrived at, he will certainly launch the party,” a close aide of Mr. Reddy said. The former Chief Minister is looking at attracting voters in urban areas in Seemandhra region. Indications available suggest that he may choose Tirupati to make formal announcement in the next couple of days. Plans are afoot to hold public meetings in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam also and mark the launch of his election campaign.