Kiran banks on youth, other sections for new party

Remains unfazed by dwindling support from Congress MLAs

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is said to be firm on going ahead with the launch of his new party

Unfazed by the number of Ministers and legislators who are keeping away from him, caretaker Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is said to be firm on going ahead with the launch of his new party by hoping to get the support of students, youth and other sections in Seemandhra.

With a dozen legislators, including two former Ministers – Pithani Satyanarayana and S. Sailajanath -- holding consultations with him on Monday, Mr. Reddy is believed to have said that division of the State and the manner in which it was done had made him think of launching a new party to protect the interests of the people of the region.

Sources said the MLAs and MLCs who met him, said his party could fill the vacuum in the region and would have more credibility than the TDP and the YSR Congress. They wanted him to announce the party at the earliest and felt that the installation of a new government to be headed by a Seemandhra Chief Minister would only enhance his esteem.

Close aides of Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy said that he would hold a meeting with intellectuals on Tuesday. He will also hold consultations with students and youth organisations on Wednesday. “Once he completes the interactions, he will decide on the day and date of the launch of the new party,” sources said.

His camp dismissed the talk that the number of supporters was dwindling. “There are leaders, who had been talking to Mr. Reddy on phone and telling him that they would certainly back his leadership. The number will increase in the coming days,” sources pointed out.

It is understood that some legislators who attended the meeting did not give any positive commitment except saying that they would hold meetings with their constituents and take the final call.

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh at a press conference in Delhi said that it was unfortunate that Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who was elected unanimously by the CLP, did not act as a statesman. “I must admit that he belongs to a very old loyalist family of Congressmen. His father was a Minister and a respected leader of Rayalaseema and he also has been a Congress loyalist,” he added.