If the sources from the YSR Congress Party are to be believed, senior party leader and recently elected Legislative Council member Botsa Satyanarayana is likely to be appointed as the in-charge of the YSRCP in north-coastal Andhra.
According to these sources, party president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who has been overhauling the party organization at all levels, has reportedly decided to entrust key responsibilities to Botsa to rebuild the party in the erstwhile combined north-Andhra districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Srikakulam.
Until now, the responsibility for the party in north Andhra was handled by senior leader and Rajya Sabha member Y.V. Subba Reddy.
He took over from his predecessor, party general secretary and MP V. Vijay Sai Reddy, a couple of years ago.
However, Subba Reddy is said to have failed in effectively managing the party affairs in the region and allegedly encouraged a lot of groupism within the party.
Under his leadership, the YSRCP did not win any seats in the entire Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts. It only managed to win the Araku MP seat and two assembly seats in the tribal areas.
That is precisely why Jagan has decided to replace Subba Reddy with Botsa, who is from the same region and has a strong grasp of the regional politics.
“Being a man of the people, he can develop strategies according to the needs of the people,” sources said.
There is speculation that Jagan is considering doing away with the concept of the party's regional coordinators and making district party presidents responsible for coordinating with party leaders in the constituencies within their jurisdiction.
If this happens, Botsa will not be made a regional coordinator but will be confined to Vizianagaram district.