Jagan quits as Congress MP, to launch new party

Jagan Mohan Reddy, Congress MP and son of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajashekhar Reddy, on Monday resigned as party MP. Jagan's mother Vijayalakshmi has also resigned from Andhra Pradesh Assembly.

He is likely to soon announce the launch of his new party - Youth Sramik Ryot (YSR) Congress - in Kadapa, his Lok Sabha constituency, sources close to him said.

Jagan has sent his resignation letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi. His four-page resignation letter claimed that there was politics against him from his own party. He also faxed a one-line letter to Lok Sabha Speaker tendering his resignation.

"I resign from primary membership of Congress and Lok Sabha. The AICC has insulted me repeatedly in the last 14 months. I was not treated with the respect I deserve. My father's legacy was hijacked by others and I was not allowed to continue my Odarpu yatra," said Jagan in his letter.

He also claimed that Sakshi TV is an independent media organisation. "I am deeply hurt but have no option," he added.

Sources told CNN-IBN that Jagan and his mother took the decision to resign from the party on Saturday.

Reacting to Jagan's decision, Union Minister M Veerappa Moily, the AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, termed it "most unfortunate and misguided" but said it would have no effect on the party in Andhra Pradesh.

Rajya Sabha member from Andhra, V Hanumantha Rao, said that Jagan had been given a long rope. He said that Congress was not scared of anyone and remained a strong party in the state. He also added that Jagan had no future outside the the party and claimed that Chiranjeevi always supported the Congress.

Jagan has been defying Congress leadership by going on 'Odarpu yatra' (consolation) in six districts of Andhra, reportedly to meet and console the family members of people who committed suicide of died of shock following the death of his father YS Rajashekhar Reddy in a helicopter crash on September 2, 2009.

Sakshi TV, a channel owned by Jagan, has also been very critical of Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party General Seceretary Rahul Gandhi.

In fact a Sakshi TV programme aired on the night of November 25 attributed Congress' debacle in Bihar to Rahul's depleting magic.

Why Jagan is important for Congress?

He is the inheritor of the late YSR Reddy legacy, the most famous Congress chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. He is a Reddy from Rayalaseema, the backbone of Congress in the state and controls the entire Rayalaseema region.

Jagan is young and very popular among the youth. His Odarpu yatra was a huge success.

With Jagan's exit Congress likely to lose majority Reddy votes in the Rayalaseema.

He also enjoys enormous financial clout and runs a huge media empire. If he launches a new party, it might unseat the Congress.
The Congress has 156 MLAs in Andhra Assembly. If 30-40 party MLAs go with Jagan, as he has been claiming, then the Congress government in Andhra will collapse.

Andhra Assembly has 294 MLAs and the halfway mark is 148.
 

's Praja Rajyan Party has 18 MLAs while MIM has seven members. These two parties are likely to support the Congress.

The Telugu Desam Party has 91 MLAs, Telangana Rashtra Samithi 11, Bharatiya Janata Party two, CPI four, CPI-M one, CPI-ML one and three are Independents.