Former minister and veteran Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham, no doubt, wields considerable influence on Kapu community in East Godavari district, but it appears he is projecting himself as the superman of Kapus of the entire state.
Till the other day, Mudragada had been showing inclination towards the YSR Congress party and had been giving a lot indications to the media that he might join hands with party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Jagan, too, has been hoping that Mudragada would come to his help in attracting the Kapus towards the YSRCP and counter the Pawan Kalyan factor in the Godavari districts. Since Mudragada has a clean image, Jagan thought it would help attract general voters, apart from splitting the Kapu vote.
Sources in the YSRCP said Mudragada tried to utilise this opportunity to demand more from Jagan. Apparently, he put forth a demand before the YSRCP leadership that his family members and followers be given at least four seats in East Godavari district.
What irritated Jagan more was Mudragada’s demand for a concrete written assurance from the YSRCP well in advance that he would be given a prominent position in the party and cabinet berths to his followers.
Jagan is one person who doesn’t tolerate somebody putting forth demands before him. He is open for negotiations but will not succumb to demands. Whatever he wants to say, he will say it on the face without mincing words.
That is what he has done in case of Mudragada. He reportedly told him that if he comes into the party, he would take care of the political future of him and his followers, but he would not yield to any demands from anybody.
So, he started ignoring Mudragada and that finally led to the former minister parting ways with the YSRCP. It remains to be seen whether he would put forth similar demands before Pawan Kalyan or Chandrababu Naidu and get them conceded!