VIJAYAWADA:Tension prevailed at YSRC leader Vangaveeti Radhakrishna’s office on Bandar Road on Monday morning when some of his followers tried to immolate themselves after being hurt by the reports that their leader would not be given party ticket to contest from Vijayawada Central Assembly constituency in the next elections.
Following a report in a vernacular daily that Radhakrishna is likely to be asked to contest from Machilipatnam Lok Sabha constituency or Vijayawada East Assembly segment and former MLA Malladi Vishnu will be fielded from Vijayawada Central Assembly constituency in the ensuing elections, Radhakrishna’s followers were shocked.
Describing it as a grave injustice to Radhakrishna, who has been the party in-charge for Vijayawada Central constituency even before Vishnu came into the picture, the irate followers staged a protest at Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga statue on Bandar Road and even tore the flexes of YSRC. They threatened to quit the YSRC if their leader was denied the party ticket to contest from Vijayawada Central Assembly constituency.
Some of the followers who brought bottles of petrol with them tried to immolate themselves. But, they were prevented by others from committing self-immolation. Radhakrishna rushed to the spot and admonished his followers for resorting to self-immolation bid. He asked them what would happen to their families if they resort to such extreme step. Before leaving the place, he urged his followers to maintain restraint on the issue.
In view of the protest, a huge police force was sent to the spot to thwart any untoward incident. Meanwhile, Yalamanchili Ravi, another YSRC leader and friend of Radhakrishna, rushed to the place and spoke to him about the incident.
Speaking to media, Ravi said there was no official announcement of any kind with regard to the party candidates from any of the Assembly constituencies in Vijayawada. “Even Radhakrishna has not received any information in this regard. Hence, there is no need to react on the issue now,” he said, while dismissing the reports as mere speculations.
On the other hand, top YSRC leaders reportedly called Radhakrishna and asked him not to take any hasty decisions as the party has not taken any decision yet in this regard.It is learnt that Radhakrishna was unhappy about the latest developments and told his close associates that he seemed to be intentionally sidelined in the party. He is said to be of the view that if the YSRC chief makes his stance clear, he can take a decision on his political future.
Meanwhile, Radhakrishna’s cousin brother Vangaveeti Srinivas Prasad resigned from the YSRC party primary membership in protest. He accused the party leadership of being money minded, ignoring those loyal to the YSRC since its inception.
For some time now, there has been unrest in Radhakrishna’s camp with increasing priority to Vishnu, who joined the party from the Congress. Following the demand for allotment of more seats for Brahmins during the recent Brahmin convention organised by the YSRC in Visakhapatnam, which was attended by YS Jaganmohan Reddy, the reports of Vishnu being preferred as the candidate for Vijayawada Central constituency emanated.