Hyderabad, July 7
The stage is set for a bitter face-off between Congress high command and the restless CM-aspirant and MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Defying the party’s diktat, the first-time MP and son of former Chief Minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy today embarked on his controversial “Odarpu Yatra” (Consolation Tour).

Though the tour is ostensibly meant to console the families of those who died of shock or committed suicide following YSR’s death in a helicopter crash on September 2 last year, its political overtones have put the party leadership in a tight spot. Soon after the death of his father, Jagan allowed an emotional campaign to be orchestrated on his behalf to claim his father’s political legacy. His loyalists in the party have been giving pin-pricks to the septuagenarian Chief Minister K Rosaiah, picked by party president Sonia Gandhi for the post.

Amid much fanfare, Jagan boarded a train to Srikakulam, a north coastal town from where he would commence his mass contact programme. As the 37-year-old rebel leader drew enthusiastic crowds en route, senior leaders grappled with the emerging crisis in the party.

The timing of his defiance has triggered speculation that he may do a Sharad Pawar on Congress by floating a separate political outfit.

It appears that the industrialist-turned-politician has decided to raise a banner of revolt as his supporters feel that it is the right time to make a decision. Two factors seem to have influenced the move: Jagan is aware he would not be made CM replacing Rosaiah, a hardcore Sonia loyalist; sympathy factor may not last long till the next elections due in 2014.

Moreover, the Congress has roped in actor-turned-politician and president of Praja Rajya Party Chiranjeevi to neutralise the rebel MP. The actor has considerable influence in the coastal belt. It will also work for an electoral understanding with Telangana Rashtra Samithi, a dominant force in Telangana region, which is witnessing the demand for separate state.

Ignoring the threat of disciplinary action, Jagan will resume his yatra from Itchapuram in Srikakulam district tomorrow, coinciding with YSR’s birthday. It was the same place where YSR’s historic 1,500-km ‘Padayatra’ had ended in 2003, catapulting him to power in the elections held next year. Jagan hopes to invoke sympathy card to inherit the political legacy of YSR, a charismatic leader who was solely responsible for victory of Congress for two consecutive terms and delivered 33 MPs from the state to UPA’s kitty, the highest from any state.

Significantly, Jagan revealed, in an open letter to his followers, that Sonia Gandhi was opposed to the tour for unspecified reasons. “When I met Sonia Gandhi along with my mother and wife, she was clearly not favourable to the idea of yatra but did not specify any reasons. But, according to Indian tradition, visiting a bereaved family is more important than extending financial help. As a son, it is my moral responsibility towards my father,” he said in a message to his followers.

By disclosing what had transpired in his one-on-one meeting with the party president, the MP has angered several senior leaders, including Chief Minister who said it was against the established convention. By doing so, Jagan may have burnt the bridges with the party leadership and made up his mind to chart a separate political course.

“We are watching the developments carefully. It remains to be seen how many legislators will actually go with him. Even in the worst case scenario, we can bank on the support of PRP’s 18 MLAs,” a senior Congress leader said.

It is truly a make or break moment for Jagan, seen as the enfant terrible of Congress.