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Journalism of Courage
With the Budget session of Parliament days away, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) senior leader V Vijayasai Reddy’s decision to resign from the Rajya Sabha and retire from politics has left the party with the task of finding a “new voice at the Centre” even as several party leaders claimed his exit was not “a big loss”.
“He is someone who was nominated by the party and had not won an election. He was one of the main liaisons for the party in Delhi and was acceptable to both the BJP as well as the Opposition parties,” a YSRCP leader said.
Though Vijayasai said he was retiring from politics, speculation is rife that he quit politics following heat from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the probe into the sale of the Kakinada port. The central agency had Vijayasai for questioning after accusations came to the fore that he allegedly forced the owners of the Kakinada SeaPorts to sell their shares at throwaway prices. A CID investigation into the case, initiated by the N Chandrababu Naidu-led government, claimed the sale was forced to favour Jagan.
The senior leader, who resigned from the Upper House of Parliament on Saturday, had been a close aide of YSRCP chief and former Andhra Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy since 2014, In his statement on Friday, Vijaysai said there was no “pressure, or coercion or undue influence” on him.
Just after the YSRCP’s rout in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh last year, Vijayasai played a key part in organising a meeting in Delhi. “Several Opposition leaders joined Jagan on stage to protest against the TDP’s attacks on YSRCP leaders and cadre. This was the last time he did something solid for the party. We have been running the show in his absence since June last year,” said a YSRCP leader.
Leaders claimed there was “no dearth of leaders” in the party to replace Vijayasai. “Despite the party’s poor performance in last year’s elections, several powerful families have stayed with us and we have the support of many leaders,” a close aide of Jagan told The Indian Express.
The party may now have to rely heavily on its Lok Sabha floor leader P V Midhun Reddy to do its bidding in Delhi. Sources said Midhun enjoys the support of other YSRCP Rajya Sabha MPs such as Y V Subba Reddy and Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose.
Claiming that leaders such as Vijayasai were “not an asset to the party”, a party leader said, “There are leaders who have been active in politics since Jagan’s father and former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was in power in undivided Andhra. They are not going anywhere like Vijayasai, who was too scared to stand by the party in troubled times.”
Despite the claims that it has not lost much, Vijayasai’s exit has made it clear that the YSRCP has lost a financial expert. A chartered accountant by profession, Vijayasai handled the balance books of the YS family during YSR’s tenure and also of the YSRCP during its early days. “He has an unparalleled political and financial mind. The party will miss this,” said a close aide of Vijayasai.
While several leaders told The Indian Express that Vijayasai will be missed in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament, a party insider said several party leaders were “more close to Jagan than Vijayasai was”.
