Cadres in a bind as netas shift loyalties

Secunderabad: Voters and cadre of opposition parties of Cantonment Assembly segment have been left dumbfounded as most of the leaders of opposition parties jumped into the ruling TRS party. Most of local leaders of Congress, BJP and TDP have joined TRS party of late. Those who had criticised TRS policies till the recent Assembly elections were now found praising policies of TRS government.

Several prominent local leaders have joined TRS party after the notifications for Parliament were issued. Ganesh, who contested for Cantonment Assembly seat from BJP, joined TRS in the presence of the Minister Ch Malla Reddy and MLA Mynampally Hanmanth Rao recently. Fed up with the attitude of the party, Krishank, the youth Congress leader who tried desperately to get Congress ticket from Cantonment Assembly seat too joined TRS party in the presence of TRS working president KTR recently.

Among other leaders, former Cantonment Board vice-president Jampana Pratap, Bowenpally Market committee chairman Muppidi Gopal, Bhanuka Narmada and her husband Mallikarjun, TDP BC cell vice-president Bhadrinath Yadav, Cantonment Board member Bhagyasree along with her husband Shyam, a former board member, and her father-in-law Gauri Shankar, also shifted to TRS party in the presence of the Telangana Minister Ch Malla Reddy and Malkajgiri TRS candidate Marri Rajasekhar Reddy. Supporters of the other parties have been left confused as most of the leaders who play a key role have left their respective parties and joined TRS party.

To facilitate easy win for his son-in-law Marri Rajashekhar Reddy, Malla Reddy has ensured that there was no opposition left in the Cantonment Assembly segment by persuading the local leaders of opposition parties to join the ruling party. All the public representatives in the assembly segment have been actively campaigning for TRS candidate.

The representatives who are actively campaigning for TRS candidate include MLA Sayanna, Cantonment board vice president J Ramakrishna, board members J Maheshwar Reddy, S Keshav Reddy, Anitha Prabhakar, P Nalini Kiran, Pandu Yadav, Bhagyasree and Lokanatham, Monda division corporator Akula Rupa Harikrishna and Bowenpally market committee vice chairman TN Srinivas.