SRIKAKULAM: Besides inaugurating a slew of projects during his Visakhapatnam tour, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy reportedly also met Palasa MLA and minister for animal husbandry and fisheries Seediri Appalaraju to discuss the internal rift in his Assembly constituency.
At a time when speculation is rife that a few dissident YSRC leaders in Palasa are set to join the Opposition TDP, the ruling party has reportedly swung into damage control mode.
It has been learnt that differences have emerged between dissident leaders, including Duvvada Srikanth, Duvvada Hemababu Chowdary and Juttu Neelakantham, and the local MLA. Taking note of the issue, they were reportedly invited to join the yellow party.
When Jagan came to know that all was not well in Palasa, he reportedly summoned Appalaraju to Vizag on Monday and enquired about the issue in his constituency.
A doctor by profession, Appalaraju forayed into politics just months before the 2019 elections and won the Palasa Assembly seat with a majority of over 16,000 votes. In view of the role he played in uniting the second-rung leaders and dissidents of YSRC, Jagan inducted the first-time MLA into the cabinet after Mopidevi Venkataramana became the Rajya Sabha MP in 2020.
Following the local body and municipality elections, differences emerged between Duvvada Srikanth and Appalaraju. While Srikanth had aspired to secure the Palasa municipal chairman seat, the fisheries minister opposed it and vouched for one of his followers instead.
However, Srikanth, who has been with the YSRC since its inception, remained silent for a few months on the directions of the party high command to stay neutral.
Meanwhile, several leaders from Palasa, Mandasa, and Vajrapukotturu mandals charged Appalaraju with land grabbing and indulging in corruption. Further, Srikanth has even accused Appalaraju of causing him financial loss by getting his granite quarries shut.
Subsequently, Srikanth formed a group and held a series of meetings against the Palasa MLA. They even lodged a complaint with the regional party coordinator and the high command seeking Appalaraju’s expulsion but in vain.
Appalaraju won the 2019 election with the support of the fishermen community, to which he belongs, along with the Kalinga community, to which Srikanth belongs. However, more than 50% of the Kalinga community members reportedly now feel betrayed as the MLA has allegedly been prioritising his followers after becoming minister.
Taking advantage of the situation, Palasa Assembly segment TDP in-charge Gowthu Sireesha reportedly invited Srikanth to join the party. It has been learnt that he has accepted the invitation and even assured her that he would join the party at an auspicious time after discussing it with Srikakulam parliamentary in-charge Kuna Ravikumar and TDP State president Kinjarapu Atchannaidu.
After photos of Srikanth and Sireesha emerged on social media platforms, the YSRC high command jumped in to reconcile the dissident leaders in Palasa. MLC Duvvada Srinivas, Srikanth’s brother, reportedly tried to convince him to not quit the party. However, the latter denied the request.
A senior leader from Palasa opined that the internal rift will definitely affect the YSRC’s prospects in the elections.
DISSIDENT LEADER TO JUMP SHIP TO TDP?
Palasa Assembly segment TDP in-charge Gowthu Sireesha reportedly invited Srikanth to join the yellow party. It has been learnt that he accepted the invite & assured her that he would join the party at an auspicious time after discussing it with senior TDP leaders