Y.S. Jagan arrested – Congress hits self destruct button

It is quite a stunning turnaround from May 2004 to May 2012, when Sonia Gandhi campaigned shoulder to shoulder with the late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy in the 2004 Lok Sabha  election to this week when the late YSR’s son was finally arrested over massive instances of financial irregularities during YSR’s rule in Andhra.


It would be naive to view YS Jagan’s arrest as a local phenomenon in Andhra. Since YSR’s death, the Congress has seen unprecedented turmoil leading to a split in the party and dog fights across factions within and outside the party. But we must not miss the significance of Andhra Pradesh in general and Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy in particular,  to the Sonia Gandhi lead Congress’ path to power.


It is a matter of public record that in both 2004 and 2009 Andhra Pradesh sent the largest number of Congress MPs. What is however not a matter of public record is the extent to which the Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy reign may have funded the Congress’ election campaigns in successive elections – allegations on this have been in the air for several years now.


Given the widespread nature of the alleged financial irregularities that have now been reported in connection with the late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s family and the nexus with a spectrum of Crony Businessmen, the question needs to be asked what did 10 Janpath know and why did it look away all these years, till Y.S. Jagan started to pose an existential threat to the Congress in AP ? The TNN piece on Sonia Gandhi’s strategy from 20th May 2012 needs to be read in this regard


It’s the Congress’s last gambit. Faced with the prospect of a rout in the upcoming byelections that could begin the process of party’s disintegration in Andhra Pradesh, Sonia Gandhi has given the signal for an all-out assault to save the party in its last citadel. The strategy has two prongs: a go ahead to the CBI to expedite its investigations in theJagan assets case without sparing anyone, and to rein in Congressmen who are showing signs of pulling in all directions.


As a result, the CBI now has begun treading a rapier sharp course. The agency has been told that ‘no-holds-barred’ is their mission target. For the time being, nobody, no minister or no civil servant needs to be spared. Home minister P Chidambaram, without interfering in the activities of CBI, is now overseeing this part of the operation. Sonia’s political secretary Ahmed Patel has been told to oversee the other part of the operation – to ensure that rebel Congressmen fall in line – at least for the time being and that they fan out to canvass for votes for the official party candidates where the bypolls are being held


It is evident that the Congress has hit the self destruct button in Andhra, but how long before the taint extends all the way from Lotus Pond to Janpath Road ?