Is Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy not so happy with one of his most trusted aides, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, officially designated as advisor for public affairs to the YSRCP government?
If news emanating from the corridors of power in the state is true, the answer is “yes”, and apparently it’s only a matter of time before Sajjala plays a diminished role in the overall scheme of things, mainly relating to the party.
Apart from functioning as spokesman for the government, Sajjala has also been vested with many responsibilities in the party. However, the chief minister now seems to think that intra-party problems arising in some districts are mainly on account of improper handling by Sajjala.
Who will fill the space that gets vacated? The buzz is that Jagan will fall back on another trusted aide, Rajya Sabha member Vijaya Sai Reddy, to handle party matters. For more than a year now, Vijaya Sai has been maintaining a rather low profile, largely confining his activities to Delhi and Visakhapatnam district.
The chief minister is understood to have conveyed certain “dos and dont’s” to the Rajya Sabha member and both are expected to have another round of discussion before the new hierarchy is finalised.
With elections hardly a year away, Jagan is keen on ensuring that the party is on a sound base without local leaders squabbling among themselves. He is said to have already prepared a list of MLAs who would be renominated and is actively looking for alternatives wherever he intends to have a new face as party candidate.
Having commenced district tours a few months ago, Jagan is also utilising the visits to get first-hand information on the situation in different constituencies, leaving hardly any scope for his aides to give him a picture contrary to that prevailing on the ground.
