The YSRCP chief arrived at KCR's residence in Jubilee Hills around 11:30 am on Thursday, presenting him with a shawl and a bouquet.
Published Jan 04, 2024 | 3:33 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 04, 2024 | 3:33 PM
Andhra Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy with BRS chief KCR. (X)
On Thursday, 4 January, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy paid a visit to former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao at his Nandi Nagar residence in Hyderabad. KCR is currently recuperating from a hip replacement surgery he underwent about three weeks ago.
The meeting between these two leaders roused public attention, coinciding with the day when Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sister, YS Sharmila, merged her YSRTP into the Congress in Delhi, alongside party heavyweights Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
Sharmila dropped ample hints that she would be focusing her efforts in Andhra Pradesh from now on. In fact, she met Jagan Mohan in Vijayawada the day before, inviting him to her son’s wedding. The event seemed more like a family reunion than a meeting between political adversaries.
The YSRCP chief arrived at KCR’s residence in Jubilee Hills around 11:30 am on Thursday, presenting him with a shawl and a bouquet. He spent a considerable amount of time discussing KCR’s bathroom fall on 7 December at his farmhouse in Erravilli, Siddipet district.
బీఆర్ఎస్ అధినేత, మాజీ ముఖ్యమంత్రి శ్రీ కేసీఆర్ గారిని పరామర్శించిన ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ ముఖ్యమంత్రి శ్రీ వైఎస్ జగన్ మోహన్ రెడ్డి గారు. pic.twitter.com/D64Ev8EzkI
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) January 4, 2024
KCR was subsequently admitted to Yashoda Hospital in Somajiguda, where he underwent hip replacement surgery on 8 December.
Jagan’s visit was met with a warm reception, with KCR’s son and former minister KT Rama Rao among those welcoming him. The YSRCP chief flew to Hyderabad on a special flight solely to visit KCR.
Since assuming office as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 2019, Jagan has met with KCR on several occasions. These meetings delved into various issues related to the development and welfare of both states, including the division of assets and liabilities, inter-state projects, and the status of the new capital city of Amaravati.
Months after Jagan’s electoral victory in Andhra Pradesh, he visited KCR on 23 September 2019 at Pragati Bhavan (now Praja Bhavan) in Hyderabad. They explored the possibility of collaborating to divert surplus water from the Godavari river to the Krishna basin, benefiting both states, especially the drought-prone Rayalaseema region.
The proposal envisaged diversion of Godavari waters from Dummugudem in erstwhile Khammam district in Telangana with the help of lifts, and transport it to the Srisailam reservoir through tunnels and canals. From there, this water is proposed to be taken to the Penna river basins to irrigation fallow lands in Rayalaseema region.
Their mutual respect is well-known, with KCR expressing his desire for Jagan Mohan Reddy’s victory in the 2014 elections. Despite KCR’s prediction, TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu became the first chief minister of the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh.
On 29 November 2023, a day before the Telangana Assembly elections, the Andhra government reportedly released water from the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam into its right canal. This move, suspected to be intentional, aimed to position KCR as the sole leader capable of preventing the diversion of Telangana’s share of Krishna water to Andhra.
However, the Congress emerged victorious in Telangana, thwarting the speculated plan.
