Another son rise: Shashi eyes CM's post through son

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Dec 5, 2012: Is Sanathnagar MLA Marri Shashidhar Reddy using his son Marri Aditya Reddy to pave his way to the Chief Minister's post?
The junior Reddy's presence in Vizag during AICC general-secretary Rahul Gandhi's emissary Jitendra Desh Prabhu's visit got tongues wagging and many Congressmen were of the opinion that Mr Aditya Reddy was trying to set the stage for his father.

Sources say that there is a possibility that a Reddy leader from Telangana will be appointed CM, along with a package for the region, to placate T-protagonists if the Congress high command denies Telangana.

If Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is replaced before the Assembly polls, Mr Shashidhar Reddy, along with panchayat raj minister K. Jana Reddy, housing minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and former PCC president D. Srinivas will be among those in the running for the top post, said sources.

Despite strong denials both from New Delhi and Hyderabad, sources say that there are high chances of the CM being replaced ahead of the polls in view of growing opposition.

Meanwhile in Vizag, Mr Aditya Reddy was seen mingling with Mr Desh Prabhu during the latter's one-and-a-half day visit to the city to get feedback from Congress leaders and cadres on the party's prospects in Vizag and Anakapalle Parliamentary constituencies for the 2014 polls.

Sources inside the CM's camp said that Mr Aditya Reddy's intention was to influence Mr Gandhi's emissary and give negative feedback about Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy .

The sources said Mr Shashidhar Reddy has been lobbying hard to project the CM as a failure on one hand and himself as an efficient alternative who will be able to handle the burning Telangana issue and deliver good governance on the other.

“I think they are of the opinion that giving negative feedback about the CM's governance at ground-level to Rahul's emissary will work in their favour,“ said a Congress leader who had been accompanying Mr Desh Prabhu.

Another Congress leader from Hyderabad said, “It's not uncommon in the Congress for everybody to try their best to project themselves as efficient before the high command and show others in poor light.“