Hyderabad: TRS scans for old horses to strengthen party

Hyderabad: Will TRS fall back on the expertise of senior leaders to further strengthen its base in the State? This is the hot topic under discussion in party circles.

Many senior leaders like Kadiyam Srihari, Jupally Krishna Rao, S Madhusudhana Chary, S Venugopala Chary, Naini Narasimha Reddy, Tummala Nageswara Rao, G Nagesh and others have been dormant in the party after the 2019 elections.

While Kadiyam was the Deputy Chief Minister, others had either served as ministers or were in equally important positions. But then in 2019 elections barring Srihari and Naini who are MLCs, others had lost the elections.

Even these two senior leaders did not find place in the cabinet. Now, Naini will be retiring from the Council in March. Recently, Nageswara Rao was seen with the chief minister when President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in the city.

This gave rise to speculation that he may be given some important post. But then there is another section of leaders in the party who feel that it may not happen since political equations in Khammam district had undergone many changes.

Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar and TRS floor leader in Lok Sabha Nama Nageswara Rao have emerged as important leaders in the district. This could affect the chances of Tummala getting any post, sources feel.

Though at one point of time it was felt that Jupally Krishna Rao was all set to get some plum post, it appears that the Chief Minister was unhappy with him because of his reported anti-party activities in the recent municipal elections. It may be recalled that in Mahbubnagar followers of Jupally had defeated all TRS members in two municipalities.

Leaders like former Speaker of Telangana Assembly S Madhusudhana Chary, S Venugopala Chary, G Nagesh, Chinta Prabhakar, and former Legislative Council Chairman K Swamy Goud have not been active in party activities.

Will they be considered for any post is the big question now?

In case of Chinta Prabhakar, TRS had assured the chairmanship of the TSCO (Telangana State Cooperative Society) Chairman. But due to pending of the bifurcation issues, his appointment was kept in abeyance.