JANGAON: Ahead of the Assembly elections, trouble seems to be brewing for the ruling BRS in the Station Ghanpur constituency.Two former deputy chief ministers – sitting MLA Thatikonda Rajaiah and former legislator from the same segment Kadiyam Srihari have started lobbying for the the Station Ghanpur ticket and are also publicly criticising each other in an attempt to gain an upper hand.
Emboldened by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s recent announcement that all sitting MLAs will be given the B forms to contest the polls, Rajaiah is said to have cha-nged his attitude. His critics accuse him of acting in a manner bordering on arrogance.
Srihari, on his part, has reportedly been telling the cadre to not pay too much attention to his rival’s claims. He has been trying to convince the BRS workers that the CM is very unlikely to give ticket to Rajaiah as he is not happy with his work.
The duo also stopped sharing the dais during party meetings and other official gatherings. Their criticism of each other is demoralising the party cadre, who are now a confused lot and are unable to decide on whom to support.
Their attitude has created a virtual split among the local BRS supporters with one group supporting Rajaiah and the other Srihari. While one group wants Rajaiah to contest, the other wants BRS ticket for either Srihari or his daughter Kavya.
Advantage Congress?
Meanwhile, the senior BRS leaders are worried over the Rajaiah-Srihari tussle as they fear that Congress may take advantage of the situation and intensify their efforts to regain the Station Ghanpur seat.The Congress retains a strong voter base in the constituency, with the electorate backing its candidates for over two decades prior to the formation of Telangana State.