Telangana: Thummala, Ponguleti host separate New Year bash, make intentions clear

HYDERABAD: Former minister Thummala Nageswara Rao and former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy sprang a surprise in the erstwhile Khammam district politics by hosting separate New Year programmes and making their political intentions very clear. Both leaders had been inactive in the BRS for some time now.

Participating in the New Year celebrations on Sunday, Srinivas Reddy said that he and all his followers would contest the next Assembly elections in all segments of the district. “I was in BRS and I am in BRS. All of you knew what respect I have earned at the party in the last four years. You can expect what respect I will get in the party in the coming days,” Srinivas Reddy said in the meeting. He said that he would contest the next elections and his followers too would contest the coming Assembly elections.

Elsewhere, Thummala enumerated his achievements as Minister in the past. He said that he would wash the feet of the people of his segment with Godavari waters. He also announced that he would contest from the Palair Assembly segment in the coming elections. Both the leaders have been reportedly unhappy with the BRS leadership as they were not given key responsibilities in the party.

Thummala even held discussions with another dissident leader Jupally Krishna Rao, a former minister from the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district some time back.It may be recalled here that Sathupally MLA Sandra Venkata Veeraiah made an indirect attack on Thummala recently.