HYDERABAD: Intent on nipping trouble in the bud stage, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday reportedly read the riot act to TRS leader Kancharla Krishna Reddy, who is suspected to be behind the fresh wave of dissidence that erupted against former MLA Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy, billed as the TRS candidate for the ensuing byelection to Munugode Assembly seat.
Krishna Reddy, a realtor, is the brother of Nalgonda TRS MLA Kancharla Bhu-pal Reddy and is an aspirant for the party ticket for the ensuing byelection. According to sources, the Chief Minister has been informed by the intelligence department and party sources that Krishna Reddy was behind the trouble that has been brewing in the constituency.
Sources in the ruling party said that the TRS supremo minced no words while disciplining Krishna Reddy. He reportedly told him that he would not tolerate any trouble from him in the by-election. The Chief Minister asked him to work in tandem with all the TRS leaders including Prabhakar Reddy. The CM asked Krishna Reddy to support the official candidate of the party, regardless of who it might be.
With the Chief Minister being angry and making it plain to him that he was not in a position to dictate terms, Krishna Reddy nodded his head and told him that his intention was not to resort to any anti-party activity but only to bring to his notice that there was opposition to the candidature of Prabhakar Reddy.
Rao was apparently riled by the group of TRS leaders owing allegiance to Krishna Reddy camping at Choutuppal on Friday and even on Saturday and sending out warnings to the party leadership that they would not cooperate if the party chose Prabhakar Reddy as the party’s candidate. To contain the trouble in the initial stages, the CM put his foot firmly down and took Krishna Reddy to task. For KCR, winning the seat is of paramount importance as the party’s victory would set the tone for the next Assembly elections.
In fact, Energy Minister G Jadish Reddy held a meeting with the dissident leaders on August 10 and asked them not to spoil the broth by working at cross purposes but to support the TRS candidate, whoever it might be. No sooner the meeting was over than they got together and began plotting against Prabhakar Reddy.
They met at Choutuppal on Friday and Saturday and raised a banner of revolt against him and said he was not acceptable to the party cadres since he is a tormentor and was responsible for the arrest of several party workers who did not toe his line.
Even on Saturday, several low-rung ruling party leaders held a meeting in Choutuppal to firmly reject the candidature of Prabhakar Reddy. They even went to the extent of passing a resolution to defeat Prabhakar Reddy if the party fields him.
Speaking to Express, Krishna Reddy said: “The Chief Minister said that he would announce the party’s candidate for Munguode at the public meeting scheduled on August 20 after obtaining survey reports from IPAC and from the MLAs who were assigned the election responsibility. I told the chief minister I would abide by his decision regardless of who the candidate would be.”