HYDERABAD: Politics in Khammam took a sharp turn on Wednesday with Finance Minister T Harish Rao calling on former minister Tummala Nageswara Rao at his residence along with BRS floor leader in the Lok Sabha Nama Nageswara Rao. Harish Rao, who has been tasked with the responsibility of making Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s public meeting in Khammam on January 18 a stupendous success, appeared to have donned his troubleshooter hat, at a time when former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy appears to be departing from the BRS.
An indication to this effect was Ponguleti’s stinging comments against the pink party leadership. With rumours that Ponguleti would be soon joining the BJP gathering steam, the BRS leadership seems to have taken the issue seriously, and directed Harish Rao to prevent any more departures from the party in the erstwhile Khammam district.
It may be recalled that Minister Ajay Kumar, Tummala Nageswara Rao, Nama Nageswara Rao and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy held separate meetings with their followers on January 1, as a show of strength, and to give hope to their followers about their further political prospects. Even as the separate meetings were seen as differences between all these leaders, Ponguleti’s statement came as a jolt to the ruling BRS.
Last month, TRS working president KT Rama Rao met all these leaders in Khammam. Now, Harish Rao calling on Nama appears to be an attempt by the BRS to ensure that the turmoil in Khammam does not blow out of hand at a time when the chief minister has chosen the district as the launchpad for his national amb itions.