Hyderabad, Sep 8 (Inditop.com) In what is seen as an attempt to display his leadership skills, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the son of late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Tuesday urged people to pay tribute to his father by voting for the Congress party.
Sitting in front of a portrait of his father, the young MP made an appeal to voters in the Tekkali assembly constituency – going for by-elections Thursday – not only to help Congress retain the seat but also to vote for the party in the 2014 elections.
Jagan, as the Kadapa MP is popularly known, made the appeal amid a growing demand from his supporters in the party to make him the next chief minister.
Reiterating YSR’s words a couple of days before his tragic death in a helicopter crash on Sep 2, Jagan said the Congress would retain power in the 2014 polls and Rahul Gandhi would become the prime minister.
With folded hands, the 37-year-old Jagan appealed to people to strengthen the party under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi by casting their votes in favour of the party.
“We have to carry forward the vision and policies of the late leader,” said Jagan.
The bye-election from the Tekkali assembly constituency in Srikakulam district in north coastal Andhra is being held Thursday to fill the vacancy created by the death of K. Revatipathi of the Congress party on June 2. He died a few days after the assembly elections and a day before he was to take oath as legislator.
Jagan’s appeal is being seen as an attempt to counter some other contenders to the chief minister’s post who claim he lacks political experience.
His supporters argue that he may have been elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time, but he had leadership qualities and was quite active in Kadapa district politics for the last few years.
This is the second time after his father’s death that Jagan has appeared on television channels to make an appeal. On Sep 4, before the burial of YSR, Jagan had made an emotional appeal to YSR’s followers and fans not to commit suicide.
He also issued a written statement Sep 6, urging his supporters to halt a campaign in his favour and wait for the decision of the party’s central leadership.
rounak