Kiran Kumar Reddy resigns as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, quits Congress

Hyderabad:  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has resigned as chief minister and has quit the Congress. His political plans...

Please click one of the button below to read Full Story / Video.

Hyderabad:  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has resigned as chief minister and has quit the Congress. His political plans, say those close to him, include launching his own party.

Mr Reddy is expected to walk two km from his residence to the Raj Bhawan, where the state's Governor resides, to hand in his papers. 

On Tuesday, the Lok Sabha passed the controversial bill that creates a new Telangana state by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. The Rajya Sabha will take up the bill today. 

For months Mr Reddy has battled for a united Andhra Pradesh, rebelling against his party which decided to hurry through its Telangana plan with an eye on the national elections due by May. The Congress hopes the split will bring it rich electoral dividends from the 10 districts of the Telangana region. 

Mr Reddy's efforts have included leading the state Assembly in rejecting the Telangana plan and a protest sit-in at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

Mr Reddy has argued that the division of Andhra Pradesh will decimate the Congress in the residuary state. His party has factored that in as it has played its Telangana gamble.

In Seemandhra - the non-Telangana regions bitterly opposed to the split - there is crowd of parties scrambling for the voters' attention. Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSR Congress has sought to project himself as the voice of Seemandhra. (Read: Democracy killed in broad daylight, says Jagan Mohan Reddy) The Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party too draws its electoral strength from this region. 

"Kiran Kumar Reddy needs to weigh what political plank he will go to the people on if the state is bifurcated before elections. Also, critically, how many of his Seemandhra colleagues will go with him finally," said Pithani Satyanarayana, a state minister and the Chief Minister's confidant.

Tweet

Sponsored Links