WARANGAL: With three Progressive Recognised Teachers’ Union (PRTU) candidates in the fray for elections to Nalgonda, Khammam, and Warangal Teachers constituency of the State Legislative Council, the PRTU members are concerned about the likelihood of a vote-split, and as a consequence, the rival candidates winning the post.
PRTU leaders Pula Ravinder — who is the present MLC, Komatireddy Narsimha Reddy from Nalgonda and P Sarvotham Reddy from Warangal — also the former PRTU president are contesting the polls. Though PRTU nominated Ravinder as its official candidate, the other two refused to withdraw from the contest.
PRTU has more members in comparison to other teachers’ unions, and more often than not, the nominated candidate is considered a winner by default. Pula Ravinder won the previous time while contesting as the official candidate of PRTU. The infighting in PRTU is likely to benefit former DEO Y Chandra Mohan, who is contesting as an Independent from Warangal. The former DEO reportedly has the support of a large section of teachers, who are likely to vote for him in the MLC polls. In fact, according to sources, many teachers, who were students of Chandra Mohan, has been campaigning for him over the last three months.