JANGAON: The ruling BRS has been facing dissidence ever since Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced the list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections. In Jangaon too, the groupism has reared its ugly head, posing a headache for the leadership.
Jangaon is one of the four Assembly segments for which the party has not named the candidate, which was attributed to the local leaders and cadre openly expressing their opposition to sitting MLA Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy’s candidature. The delay in naming the candidates, however, has resulted in a three-way split in the BRS in the Jangaon segment.
While incumbent MLA Yadagiri Reddy has his own faithful followers, two “non-local” leaders -- Telangana Rythu Bandhu Samithi president and MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and MLC Pochampally Srinivas Reddy have also been lobbying for the BRS ticket. All three ticket aspirants have been holding meetings with the local cadre.
Rajeshwar Reddy, in fact, claims that he is a native of Jangaon. He has been trying to convince the cadre that he has good relations with the party’s leadership and he is sure to get the nod to contest from Jangaon.
Recently, he held a meeting at Sodeshapalle village in Velair mandal of Hanamkonda district where he urged the party cadre to support him while promising to work for the development of the constituency.
Srinivas Reddy, on the hand, is trying to bank on his “close association” with BRS working president and Minister KT Rama Rao to attract the local leaders and cadre to his side. He also been attending the programmes as well as the family functions of some of the cadre to be in their good books.
Confusion among Congress cadre
A similar trouble is brewing in the Congress as the grand old party is yet to announce its candidate. Jangaon District Congress Committee chief Kommuri Pratap Reddy and former PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah are aspiring for the Congress ticket in this segment. While Pratap Reddy has been claiming that the party’s leadership will soon announce his candidature, Ponnala Lakshmaiah has not attended the party’s meeting in the constituency.