KAMAREDDY: A purported audio clip of senior Congress leader and government adviser Md Ali Shabbir triggered a political storm on Thursday after it went viral on social media, and also brought the simmering factional differences within the party’s Kamareddy unit into public gaze.
In the audio clip, allegedly recorded during a conversation with supporters, Shabbir Ali is purportedly heard making remarks suggesting that party posts were being secured through money and favours. The comments were widely interpreted as an indirect reference to TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud.
A close aide of the Congress leader dismissed the controversy, claiming that the viral content was manipulated and that the remarks had been taken out of context to create a misleading narrative.
As the clip circulated online, Shabbir Ali remained silent and did not respond to calls from TNIE seeking his reaction. The episode comes against the backdrop of an ongoing tussle between Shabbir Ali’s camp and TPCC general secretary Gaddam Chandrasekhar Reddy in Kamareddy.
Chandrasekhar Reddy, a former BRS leader, joined the Congress ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections along with his wife Indupriya and a section of supporters. Following the elections, Indupriya became chairperson of the Kamareddy municipality. However, after the municipal council’s term ended, differences surfaced between Chandrasekhar Reddy and Shabbir Ali’s supporters.
The rivalry intensified after Chandrasekhar Reddy was appointed TPCC general secretary by B Mahesh Kumar Goud. Earlier, Chandrasekhar Reddy, a realtor, was arrested and remanded in judicial custody in connection with a case involving the alleged storage of explosive materials.
The differences spilled into the public domain when Chandrasekhar Reddy made remarks against Shabbir Ali. In response, Shabbir Ali’s supporters approached TPCC Disciplinary Action Committee chairman Mallu Ravi, alleging anti-party activities by Chandrasekhar Reddy and seeking action against him. Subsequently, Chandrasekhar Reddy’s supporters lodged complaints against Shabbir Ali, accusing him of anti-party activities.
Incidentally, the Congress district office, which previously functioned from a building owned by Shabbir Ali adjacent to his residence, was shifted to a rented premises after Ale Mallikarjun became DCC president. Recently, the state government allotted one acre of land near the Collectorate, under Adlur village limits, for construction of a permanent district party office.
