Hyderabad: Fear of being relegated to the political backwardness, the Reddy community in Telangana appears to be moving closer towards the YSRCP.

According to some senior Congress leaders from the community, Reddys, who see a bleak future in the Congress, are now looking for a platform to migrate. Those who are not able to find a place in TRS or those who are not willing to join the pink party are now looking towards the YSRCP.

It is learnt that they are in touch with party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and, in fact, it is they who have been playing the role of backroom boys in organising the Paramarsa Yatra of Sharmila in Telangana. According to informed sources, the very reason for launching the yatra from Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda was the insistence of Reddy leaders from the T Congress.

After the bifurcation of the state, Reddy leaders who were dominating the political scenario till then feel that they cannot go to the TDP since the yellow party was giving greater importance to the BCs in the region and the ideologically they are opposed to the BJP and hence cannot go closer to the saffron party.

A senior Congress Reddy leader told The Hans India that Reddys constitute about 7 per cent of the total population in Telangana and have been in the forefront in terms of social and economic power since Nizam rule. The Reddy leaders like M Chenna Reddy, P Janardhan Reddy, P Indra Reddy and M Baga Reddy were among those who played a key role in AP politics from the Congress.

“Our political hegemony took a nose dive after the bifurcation as KCR emerged as a strong force to be reckoned with in the state politics and this has forced the Reddy leaders to take stock of the situation at a recent meeting which attended by many from business and education sectors as well,” a Reddy leader said on the condition of anonymity.

Though there are 18 Reddy MLAs elected on the TRS ticket and 12 from the Congress, they do not have a strong mass leader behind whom they can rally. They also analyzed the popularity of Reddy leaders in Telangana. Interestingly, YSR Congress party president YS Jaganmohan  Reddy was ahead of others.  Under the present circumstances, the community also met Jagan recently and sought his assistance to strengthen Reddys in Telangana.   Against the backdrop of this scenario, it is said that Reddys wanted to test the waters by backing Sharmila’s Parmarsa Yatra. A clear picture on the changing political equations would emerge after the Sharmila’s yatra.

Source: THI