The Karnataka chief minister Yediyurappa of BJP is unable to drop the two powerful Bellary Reddy brothers from his cabinet, while the Congress high command is dithering to take action against the defiant Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Dr. Rajashekhara Reddy.

Interestingly, Jagan is said to be the business partner of the Reddy brothers whom his father had promoted earlier. Both have enormous money and muscle power and also support of a section of MLAs whom they had financed during the elections. The Reddy brothers also have powerful backers in Delhi.

The Congress is facing problems in Andhra Pradesh after the untimely death of Rajashekhara Reddy last September in a helicopter accident. Since then, there have been law and order problems due to Telengana agitation, floods, financial crisis and Jagan's defiance. Now with the Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu raising the Sri Ram Sagar barrage issue in Maharashtra, the opposition too is raising its head

Jagan Mohan has become the latest headache for the Congress. When Jagan and his mother had audience with the Congress president Sonia Gandhi some time ago, he was warned not to rock the boat. But the adamant young MP is continuing his Odarpu Yatra ostensibly to console those who died after the accidental death of Reddy. The party too could have handled him better to reduce his nuisance value. The high command is reluctant to install him as the chief minister or induct him in the union council of ministers or give him a position in the AICC. Jagan is impatient.

Jagan's support base among the legislators may have dwindled considerably as compared to last year but there is still danger for the Rosaiah government if Jagan orders his supporters to resign. Even if the Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjivi, with whom the Congress has made up for the Rajya Sabha elections recently, agrees to bail out, the number is quite precarious. Naturally the first priority for the Congress is to save the government using every trick.

Why is Jagan emboldened to test the patience of the party big wigs? First of all, Rosaiah has not been able to settle down so far. He has proved to be a weak chief minister who looks to the guidance of the centre for every step. Secondly, Jagan is testing the waters by undertaking the Odarpu yatra to float his own outfit if nothing else works. With his enormous money power, he has been able to draw good crowds despite the Congress stopping the legislators from attending his meetings. Thirdly the forces against the Congress are trying to help Jagan indirectly.

As a consequence the patience is running out in the AICC. Although the young M.P has become uncontrollable, he has been given a long rope. For the time being, only those close to him are being targeted and suspended.

Expectations are that Jagan may not be touched for some time. For one thing, the Congress high command does not want to give him advantage even before the first death anniversary of YSR in September to avoid sympathy for Jagan. Secondly and more importantly, by -elections are scheduled for a dozen constituencies shortly. The Congress does not want to create any confusion before the by elections. Thirdly and more importantly, saving the government is more important than anything else. If Jagan revolts, the 30 odd MLAs with him may also resign plunging the Congress government into a crisis. Fourthly, Assembly session is going on presently and the party does not want to create any revolt during the session.

Is there any connection in the political developments between Andhra and Karnataka? The BJP insiders claim that the drama, which has unfolded in Karnataka last week, is an extension of the Andhra politics. According to them the Congress is targeting the Reddy brothers because it can kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand the Reddy brothers would face the music for their friendship with Jagan and on the other hand they could react and destabilize the Yediyurappa government.

Reddy brothers have been in the eye of storm for a while. First the chief minister himself wanted to clip their wings last October but the Reddy brothers won the first round while Yediyurappa had to drop his close associate Shoba from the cabinet. Now the Congress is taking it forward by alleging illegal mining export of iron ore by the brothers. The Congress feels that by cutting off the Reddy brothers, Jagan could be weakened. Jagan is moving around in a convoy of about 300 vehicles and the Congress has realized the full significance of the money clout of Jagan and his associates.

The crisis has reached a crescendo when the Governor, H.R. Bharadwaj has taken the battle to Delhi by complaining about the alleged irregularities to the President as well as the Home Minister. The BJP has hit back by calling him the agent of the Congress and alleges that he had tried to lure the Reddy brothers to destabilise the Yediyurappa government.

However, the BJP did not seem to handle the crisis well. Politics is perception and the perception is that Reddy brothers are controlling Bellary mines. The allegation is that while they may not have indulged in illegal mining in Bellary, they control the mining activities in the district totally and the border between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is under their control.

It is bizarre how the chief minister gives them a clean chit even before any investigation. Then why does he want a probe by the Lokayuktha to go into all mining leases from 2003?

Ultimately, the developments only reveal the enormous money power of Jagan and the Reddy brothers and the helplessness of the two big national parties - the Congress and the BJP.(IPA Service)