Rebel trouble brewing in TRS

Warangal: Rebel trouble seems to be brewing in the TRS in several Assembly constituencies across the erstwhile Warangal district with the party reposing it faith on all the sitting legislators barring Warangal East segment that was represented by Konda Surekha.

The announcement of TRS candidates for the ensuing Assembly elections has not only triggered a hectic political activity in the region, but also a dissent among the aspirants.

Shell-shocked over not finding their names in the list, several aspirants who pinned their hopes on ticket for several constituencies especially Station Ghanpur, Bhupalpally, Mahabubabad, Dornakal and Janagaon went into a huddle with their followers. They are now busy weighing pros and cons of their next move.

A lot of leaders, including Rajarapu Prathap and Kavya, daughter of Kadiyam Srihari, who reportedly kept their hopes on Station Ghanpur (SC Reserved), are disappointed with the party retaining Thatikonda Rajaiah.

Speaking to The Hans India, Prathap, who has been actively participating in party activities since he shifted his loyalties from the Congress to TRS, said: “There is a lot of opposition to Rajaiah’s candidature. Its people’s voice and it reflected in a huge rally today. People want me to contest and I have to follow their diktat.”

Heightening their dissent, a large number of antagonists of sitting MLA who gathered at Station Ghanpur on Sunday unanimously passed a resolution urging the party chief K Chandrashekar Rao to give ticket to either Prathap or Kadiyam Kavya.

The situation is similar in Bhupalpally constituency from where Speaker Sirikonda Madhusudhana Chary was elected in 2014. There has been a lot of talk for the last one year or so that he would be replaced.

Adding fuel to this speculation, the TRS roped in Gandra Satyanarayana Rao of Telugu Desam in last November. It’s said that Rao is a formidable cadre-based candidate. Dejected by the turn of events, Rao closeted with his cadre and announced that he would contest as an independent.  

TRS retaining Banoth Shankar Naik for Mahabubabad seat is nothing short of a surprise, a party leader said. It is learnt that Shankar Naik on Sunday took the blessings of former MLA Redya Naik whose daughter Maloth Kavitha is also aspiring for the Mahabubabad ticket.

Banoth Ravi Kumar, a student leader during statehood movement, is also unhappy with the party retaining sitting MLA. Meanwhile, TRS leader Mohan Lal joined the TDP in opposition to sitting MLA, it is learnt.

Meanwhile, TRSV activists led by town secretary Tipparapu Anand, staged a protest opposing the candidature of sitting MLA Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy in Janagaon.

Mukkera Thirupathi Reddy of Bachannapet, Gudi Vamshidhar Reddy, Konda Madhusudhan Reddy, Kommuri Prathap Reddy and A Dashamanth Reddy, who vied for Janagaon ticket are a disappointed lot. There is a possibility that some of them are unlikely to support the sitting MLA Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy, if not they contest as independents.

Meanwhile, D S Redya Naik who won on Congress ticket and hopped to the TRS in 2014 was given ticket again. Former MLA Satyavathy Rathod who kept her hopes on the ticket is seemingly unhappy, it is learnt. Meanwhile, Redya Naik has begun his poll campaign from Dantalapally.

On the other hand, the party is yet to announce its candidate for Warangal East. There are quite a few contenders for this ticket. They are… Gundu Sudha Rani, Baswaraj Saraiah, Errabelli Pradeep Rao etc. It remains to be seen the aspirants’ reaction after the party announces the candidate.

By and large, the sitting MLA of Palakurthy, Warangal West, Parkal, Wardhannapet and Mulug have not much problem to face from rebels. Peddi Sudarshan Reddy who is contesting from Narsampet, the only constituency held by the Congress, also has no dissent.