In an apparent call to YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy to return to the Congress fold, Oommen Chandy, the new AICC general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday said he will request “old friends” who have left the party in the state in the last few years to return.
The former Kerala chief minister, who took charge as AICC general secretary on Thursday, was asked if the Congress would look to forming an alliance with other parties in the southern state. He said: “I am going to Andhra Pradesh with an open mind. However, I have to assess the feeling of the state leaders on this issue.”
Specifically asked if he would reach out to Jaganmohan Reddy to form an alliance in the state, he told THE WEEK, “I have a feeling that all old friends, who had left the Congress, will come back to the party. I will request all the leaders and workers who left the party in the last few years to come back.”
The veteran leader has been given the charge of Andhra Pradesh in the run up to a crucial election season. Assembly elections in the state are due in 2019, together with the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress finds itself sidelined in state politics, with YSR Congress emerging as the main challenger to the ruling TDP.
The party's fortunes nosedived after the death of its charismatic leader Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who perished in a helicopter crash in 2009. Upset with the party high command refusing to acknowledge him as Rajasekhara Reddy's political successor, Jagan went on to split the Congress. While Jagan gained politically, the parent party suffered as it had to face the wrath of the people of Andhra Pradesh for bifurcating the state.
“Andhra Pradesh was always with the Congress. The people of Andhra Pradesh gave immense love to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. After the Rajiv Gandhi era, the Congress entrusted P.V. Narasimha Rao, who was from Andhra Pradesh, with the responsibility to lead the country,” Chandy said.
“Unfortunately, in the last few years, because of some differences of opinion and some misunderstanding, the party has suffered. There have been some lapses. We will work hard to rebuild the party and return to it the original glory that it enjoyed in Andhra Pradesh,” he added.
Chandy will be going to Vijaywada on June 11 for a two-day meeting with state leaders. “I will engage with Congress leaders in Andhra Pradesh regarding the political situation, the present position of the party in the state as also the future of the party. After that, I will come to Delhi and have a detailed discussion with the Congress president,” he said.
Chandy was very close to Rajasekhara Reddy. The party leadership would be hoping that this will help Chandy in reaching out to Jagan and bringing him back to the Congress.