Rajasekhar, Jeevitha Quit Jagan's Party

Actor-turned-politician Rajasekhar and his wife Jeevitha have quit Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's party, the YSR Congress Party.

Speaking at a press conference earlier in the day, and later during an interview with TV channel Studio N, Rajasekhar and Jeevitha said that they had joined Jagan's party only because they thought that Jagan was really being discriminated against by the Congress High Command.

"Later, we realised that Jagan's actions are guided by nothing but his greed for the CM seat", said the couple.

Rajasekhar and Jeevitha were among the first to quit the Congress party and pledge their support to Jaganmohan Reddy when he withdrew from the Congress to set up his own political party.

"When we worked with YSR, he recognized our efforts, and he would regularly contact us and discuss what we should do for the party," said Jeevitha, the better communicator of the two. "We were in the thick of things, and we knew exactly what was going on with the party."

She went on to say that the couple had expected Jagan to be as sincere as his father, and that that was the reason that they had agreed to join the YSR Congress Party when Jagan himself, and his supporters, had repeatedly asked them for their support.

The first time they made a public appearance as a part of the Jagan camp was when they attended an event conducted in Vijayawada, wherein Jagan had fought for the cause of the rain-hit farmers.

That was the first and the only public event that they ever attended as a part of Jagan's party, as Jagan was allegedly uncomfortable with Rajasekhar stealing the show.

"As I have worked as a hero for 25 years, the people are obviously excited by my presence. Usually, Jagan was the centre of attention at all public gatherings. But when the people responded warmly to me, he could not take it," said Rajasekhar, while re-arranging his mustache for the umpteenth time.

Being an immature youngster, the duo continued, Jagan went on to avoid them, and never requested for their presence at any other event. Gradually the gap widened, and they were alienated from the YSR Congress Party, they explained.

The actual reason they were opting out of the party was that they did not want to be associated with a corrupt individual, said the couple.

The duo was told that Jagan's assets amounted to Rs. 28 crores, and they were "shocked" to see media reports that said his assets amount to Rs. 465 crores.

Doling out inside information, Rajasekhar and Jeevitha said that the members of YSR Congress Party themselves admitted that that the schemes conceptualised by YSR could not be easily implemented as the government does not have sufficient funds. However, the couple said, the party members had no qualms slinging mud at the Congress for being unable to effect YSR's schemes.

The duo stated that this attitude of the party members convinced them that Jagan had no intention of working for the betterment of the people, and that all he cared about was the CM seat.

"We are answerable to our family members, friends, well-wishers and fans," said Jeevitha, "and we could not provide them with any answers regarding anything related to Jagan, or our role in Jagan's party. So we felt it is wise to quit the party."

They went on to add that they had found fault with Chiranjeevi for setting up his own party because they felt he was not a competant politician, and that they could not support a corrupt person when they demanded sincerity from others.

Jupudi Prabhakar, a member of the YSR Congress Party, said that he was shocked with Rajasekhar and Jeevitha levelling such allegations against Jagan. He adviced the couple to meet Jagan in person and discuss matters with him.

Rajasekhar advised Jupudi to advise Jagan to hold private discussions with Sonia Gandhi instead, and clear out all political issues. "If Jagan had followed the advice you just gave us, neither the YSR Congress Party nor the by-elections would have been in the picture," Rajasekhar said.

With Rajasekhar and Jeevitha revealing all that they have, it seems Jagan has some serious damage control to do. The oppostion parties are sure to have a field day with the wealth of information the couple has just shared.