Kiran holds talks on new party

Hyderabad: Care-taker Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy appears to have finally decided to launch his own political party, notwithstanding dwindling support from Seemandhra Congress leaders.

According to indications available here on Sunday, the new party will be named as Samaikyandhra Party. Kiran is likely to announce the decision to launch the party on Wednesday or Thursday. The name of Jai Andhra was also considered, but it has been dropped as there was already a party in that name during Jai Andhra agitation in 1970.

The flag of the new party will have the map of Seemandhra with the image of Telugu Thalli on it. Telangana will not be included in the map. Incidentally, it would be similar to TRS flag which has a map of T region. However, the colour of the new flag is likely to be in green in the background. This was indicated by Congress MP Sabbam Hari after a nearly five-hour-long meeting that Kiran had with the expelled MPs here on Sunday.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Sabbam Hari said that they insisted that Kiran should float a new political party as there was a political vacuum in Seemandhra. “He has almost decided to launch a new party on Samaikyandhra plank. Full clarity will come in the next two days," he said. This view was endorsed by another MP G V Harsha Kumar also.

Kiran, they said, will hold another round of meeting with some of the Seemandhra ministers , MLAs and MLCs on Monday. He will also meet have discussions with the leaders of various Joint Action Committees from Seemandhra on Tuesday. After that, he would announce his decision, Minister Sake Sailajanath told The Hans India.

The Congress leaders close to Kiran claim that despite TDP and YSRCP being well entrenched in the region, there is still enough space for a new party. The new party will provide a platform for all those Congress leaders who cannot switch loyalties to other parties and can contest the polls under the banner of Samaikyandhra Party.

According to Sabbam Hari, Kiran may choose Tirupati as the venue to announce the new party. Prior to that, he will address two public meetings in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.

It may be recalled that Union Minister K Chiranjeevi also launched his new party, Prajarajayam Party, from Tirupati, he but later merged it with Congress party.

Earlier, Kiran Reddy held a brainstorming session with the five MPs- Lagadapati Rajagopal, Sabbam Hari, V Arun Kumar, A Sai Pratap, G V Harsha Kumar and Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, who were expelled from the Congress. Ministers Sailajanath, Pithani Satyanarayana and K Parthasarathi also took part in the meeting, which was held at AMR Buildings in Ayyappa Housing Society in Madhapur here.

While the leaders close to CM claim that the new party will cut into the vote bank of TDP and YSRCP, his detractors feel that it would only cut into the Reddy vote-bank of Congress and YSRCP which may prove to be advantageous for TDP. It is also being said that if the new party fails to attract many leaders from Congress, he may nominate the leaders of APNGOs and students as his party candidates.

Union Minister J D Seelam holds a different view. He still believes that Kiran will not float a new party since Kiran and his family members are staunch Congress loyalists.