With indefinite fast, YSR Congress gets off Telangana-fence

HYDERABAD: The widow of Andhra Pradesh's late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy will begin an indefinite fast from Monday to press for keeping the state united, putting her YSR Congress party firmly in the camp that does not favour the creation of Telangana.

The YSR Congress, which is expected to do well in general and assembly elections, had been non-committal on statehood for Telangana but it began veering towards keeping AP united after the Congress announced last month that it would partition the state.

MV Mysoora Reddy, a senior leader of the YSR Congress, said that the fast by honorary president Y S Vijayamma will begin at Vijayawada in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Vijayamaa's son Jagan Mohan Reddy, a Lok Sabha MP who is in jail pending a corruption trial, is the power behind the throne. The YSR Congress was formed by breakaway group from the Congress loyal to the family of Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in a helicopter crash in 2009.

Vijayamma's move now puts the TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu in a fix as he is viewed as someone who is sitting on the fence on Telangana. Although TDP lawmakers have participated in protests against bifurcating the state, Naidu has stayed silent.

Earlier, 16 legislators from YSR Congress resigned protesting against the decision of Congress to carve out Telangana state.