Hyderabad:
On his famous father's birth anniversary, Jagan Mohan Reddy managed once again to prove to his former party, the Congress, that he will not be ignored as a political force in Andhra Pradesh.
A dozen Congress MLAs and two of its MPs attended a function organised in Kadapa by Mr Reddy today, the first plenary of the YSR Congress, the party he launched recently that is named after YSR Reddy, one of the state's most-popular leaders.
The Congressmen were also seen taking an oath that they would abide the policies and programmes of the YSR Congress.
Mr Reddy exited the Congress in November, 2010, saying he was hurt that he was slighted by Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party, that he was not allowed to go on an 'odarpu yatra' to console the families that lost a dear one after YSR's death. Jagan could not accept that the Congress leadership had failed to recognise him as the natural successor to YSR, who died in a helicopter crash in September 2009. (
In Pics: Remembering YSR)
At different public functions, Congress members have defied party orders to be seen with Mr Reddy.
The Congress is already in a state of political emergency in Andhra Pradesh - at least 45 of its MLAs from the Telangana region have resigned, demanding a separate state for their homeland.