A bitter turf war on the cards in Warangal West

Warangal: It appears that a bitter turf war between two strong leaders is on the cards and it is likely to affect the chances of the Congress in the Warangal West constituency in the upcoming elections to the Assembly as they both vie for the ticket.

Hanumakonda DCC president Naini Rajender Reddy who kept his hopes on the ticket for a long time is facing the heat from the former DCCB chairman Janga Raghava Reddy. All is not well between the two leaders. Even though Janga held the post of DCC chief of Jangaon, he started to organise and participate in the political activity in Hanumakonda district some time ago.

Following which, Naini lodged a complaint with the TPCC. The Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) of the Congress chaired by G Chinna Reddy warned Janga not to meddle with the affairs of Hanumakonda. The DAC also told Janga to restrict his political activities to Jangaon district and Palakurthi Assembly constituency from where he contested in 2018 elections. Thereafter he held back his activity for some time.

Against this backdrop, Janga told the media persons on Tuesday expressed his inclination to contest from the Warangal West constituency. Further, he went on to say that Naini is not a local even though he (Naini) is the Hanumakonda DCC chief. "I am a local and know very well about the problems faced by the people in the region," Janga said. Expressing confidence that he would get the Warangal West ticket, Janga said that Naini will work for the party's victory.

On the other hand, Naini has been loyal and spearheaded the party for several years. He pinned his hopes on the Warangal West seat for a long time. In the 2018 elections, Naini had to make way for Telugu Desam candidate Revuri Prakash Reddy as part of the grand alliance. This time around, Naini is confident of getting the ticket. Party sources suggest that TPCC president A Revanth Reddy had already assured Naini of recommending for Warangal West ticket.