Former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Friday took time to spend several hours with his childhood friends and supporters at his hometown of Kalikiri in Annamayya district. However, he stayed away from making any comment or having discussions about politics.
Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy was welcomed by Congress senior cadres and local elders when he arrived at the R&B Guesthouse at Kalikiri around noon. Till the evening, many of his followers from Madanapalle division met the former Chief Minister.
Much to their surprise, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who has stayed away from active politics for last eight years after State bifurcation, called many by their names. After exchanging pleasantries with him, some local leaders opined that at least now, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy must speak about the prevailing political situation in the State. “Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy’s silence on political issues has disappointed his staunch followers,” said one of his supporters.
Even as some of his supporters tried to broach some issues pertaining to current political scenario in the State, Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy was said to have made gentle gestures to stop them from proceeding further.
Amid the speculations in recent days that Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy was the choice of the Congress high-command to lead the party in Andhra Pradesh, his silence at Kalikiri came as a dampener, at least for his supporters.
His supporters said that people of the Piler Assembly constituency, irrespective of their political allegiance, had admirations for Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy for initiating major projects in the region such as JNTU, Kalikiri, training centres for paramilitary divisions, highways, polytechnics, and vocational colleges in the region.
Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy’s visit to his hometown was marked by the absence of his younger brother and Telugu Desam Party leader Nallari Kishore Kumar Reddy, who is away at Ongole for the party’s Mahanadu. The former Chief Minister is scheduled to leave for Hyderabad on Saturday.
