THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: AICC general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh is going to be burdensome for Kerala leader Oommen Chandy. With Assembly elections too happening there along with the national elections next year, his role is to bring back Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy. In the last elections, his YSR Congress had eaten away 27 percent of the popular votes along with his father's legacy. The group equations in Kerala will see a sea change.
Mr Chandy had been very close to the late Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The AICC leadership hopes the emotional bond will help stitch a reunion. Congress president Rahul Gandhi had reposed his faith in AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, K. C. Venugopal. He did not want to repeat the same mistake in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and insisted on a senior leader like Mr Chandy. “Jagan Reddy is very attached to Mr Chandy, whose Chanakya tactics is well known. He has got a knack to crack complex issues. It will help Congress regain its lost glory there,” said a leader close to him.
Mr Chandy has repeatedly been reiterating that he will not hold any responsible post after the 2016 Assembly debacle. A source close to him said he was expecting an elevation to the highest decision-making body. Apart from Mr Antony, top Kerala leaders who had got a berth there include the late C. M. Stephen, the late K. Karunakaran, Vayalar Ravi and M. M. Jacob. Mr Gandhi is expected to reconstitute soon the Congress Working Committee (CWC) that he had dissolved in February. Now the million-dollar question is who'll take up the reins of "A" group that A.K. Antony entrusted with his trusted lieutenant.
