Kiran's party finds no takers

HYDERABAD: In a setback to Kiran Kumar Reddy, almost all Seemandhra ministers in the state cabinet who had earlier assured him of support if he launches a political party, have now decided to remain in the Congress.
Ministers like Ganta Srinivasa Rao and S Sailajanath, who till recently were seen as Kiran's confidants in addition to Anam Ramnarayana Reddy, N Raghuveera Reddy, Kanna Laxminarayana and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana, told TOI that they will not join Kiran if he quits the Congress to float his own outfit. On Monday, none of these ministers wanted to continue a dialogue with the CM. According to sources, some of them were invited
by the CM to his camp office to discuss the future course of action. However, none turned up.
Ministers like P Bala Raju and C Ramachandraiah have even started criticizing Kiran for his political ambitions. "I am not interested in joining any political party right now. If the state is divided, I will take a break from active politics for some time," Sailajanath told TOI on Monday. Interestingly, Kiran had displaced Telangana's D Sridhar Babu as legislative affairs minister and installed Sailajanath in his place so that the latter will join his new political outfit. SC ministers Dokka Manikya Varaprasad and Kondru Murali Mohan too have come out openly against Kiran for displaying political ambitions 'at the cost of the Congress'.
While stating that they do not want to associate themselves with the chief minister, ministers however made it clear that they do not want to remain in the Congress either. Many ministers are in touch with other political parties in the hope of getting a ticket in the polls. Ministers TG Venkatesh and Erasu Pratap Reddy are in talks with the Telugu Desam Party. Similarly, Ganta Srinivasa Rao and his team of MLAs are also in negotiations with the TDP, along with Thota Narasimham and Syed Ahmadulla.
Minister Galla Aruna Kumari has already given her consent for her son Galla Jaydev to join the TDP. He is all set to contest for the Guntur Lok Sabha seat on TDP's ticket.
As a result, only four ministers, namely, Pithani Satyanarayana, S Vijayarama Raju, K Partha Sarathi and M Maheerdhar Reddy are remaining in the Kiran camp. However, it is not certain whether the ministers will join Kiran's party.
Apart from the ministers, many Seemandhra MLAs too have decided to quit Congress but are sceptical about Kiran's party. "Without an organizational structure, no party can win elections. It is next to impossible to put a proper set up in place in less than a month's time," said a legislator.
If the Lok Sabha clears the Telangana bill on Tuesday, the CM may resign from his office and quit Congress on the same day, said sources.