Family welfare minister DL Ravindra Reddy has been reportedly mulling to join the bandwagon of the YSR Congress party chief Mr YS Jaganmohan reddy, his political rival in the Kadapa district.

This is the conclusion being drawn by some political quarters going by his off the record remarks to the media circles.
In an interaction with media persons in the assembly lobbies on Tuesday, he said 70 congress MLAs will join the Jagan party after the by-elections to the 17 assembly seats are held in the nearest future.

The by elections are due before September 2 as the Speaker Nadendla Manohar had disqualified 16 congress MLAs and accepted the resignation of the lone erstwhile PRP MLA for defying the party whip.

After the CM Kirankumar reddy clipped his wings by reducing him to mere family welfare and health departments, the wily minister has been seething with anger and making off the record remarks in favour of Jagan on and off.
Not a day passed for DL Ravindra Reddy without criticizing Jagan in the last two-and –half-years but now he completely stopped attacking Jagan after the CM stripped him of the medical education portfolio.

He may find it difficult to take forward his political career after he turned an enemy to Kirankumar Reddy and without a friend in his home district. While he continued his enmity with Jagan, CM remained a friend to Kirankumar but he knows he can’t survive in politics with two powerful enemies, one in his district and the other in the state capital now.

Since the enmity with Jagan is a forced one, he can easily withdraw it and move closer to him but he many not move closer to Kiran who has decided to ignore him in the district politics completely.
Is he going to prove practically the much talked about adage that there are no permanent friends and foes in politics by joining hands with Jagan soon just for his political survival? Let us wait to know. (J)