Jeevan Reddy assures to abide by party but with conditions

Jeevan Reddy agrees to party decisions but demands recognition for loyal cadres and a Rajya Sabha seat for himself.

Congress can heave a sigh of relief with senior leader T. Jeevan Reddy agreeing to abide by the party’s decision on the formation of the council in Jagtial, where he is locked in a fight with sitting BRS MLA Sanjay Kumar, who aligned himself with the Congress.

However, Mr. Reddy demanded that only Congress cadres who stayed with the party during difficult times should be given the Mayor and Deputy Mayor posts. He made this clear to Social Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar and AICC Secretary Sachin Sawanth during the reconcilation talks.

Mr. Jeevan Reddy, a former Minister and senior most Congress leader in Karimnagar district, is unable to digest the entry of Mr. Sanjay Kumar, to whom he lost in the Assembly elections. Their differences are played out on a daily basis, and in the Municipal elections too Mr. Reddy’s followers were ignored over Mr. Sanjay’s choice.

Mr. Reddy got only 16 B-forms from the party, and nine of them won, apart from nine rebels who were denied the party ticket. He argued that, on the other hand, Mr. Sanjay got 34 B-forms for his team, but only 14 candidates emerged victorious.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jeevan Reddy’s followers also strongly voiced their views before the AICC secretary, demanding that the forthcoming Rajya Sabha seat be allotted to him in recognition of his long-standing service to the party. They further sought a fair share for Jeevan Reddy group in the allocation of nominated posts.