Rift in BJP Warangal West comes to fore

Warangal: It's apparent that the ticket race among the leaders is catching up fast even though the elections to the Assembly are due next year-end.

Internal bickering is a common phenomenon in all the political parties. The BJP which is aspiring to be the main opponent to the ruling TRS in the State is no exception. It appears that the party Hanumakonda president Rao Padma is not sure about her ticket. BJP leadership which denied Warangal West ticket to her in 2018 fielded Marthineni Dharma Rao, who eventually lost the election.

The grapevine is that this time around BJP State spokesperson Anugula Rakesh Reddy appears to be a potential candidate who can upset Rao Padma's apple cart in the next elections. Rakesh Reddy who belongs to Vangapahad village under Hasanparthy mandal in Hanumakonda district has been actively participating in programmes and television debates. An alumnus of BITS Pilani, Rakesh worked with JP Morgan Chase, Citi Bank etc before joining the BJP in 2013.

Besides being politically active, Rakesh Reddy is also organising dharmic programmes. The devotional programme he organised during Maha Shivratri has attracted a large number of devotees. He also set up a non-profit organisation, Indus Foundation, and was doing charity works as well with his like-minded friends in Hanumakonda. The party sources say that Rao Padma was worried about Rakesh Reddy's growing activity in the constituency.

Against this backdrop, it's learnt that Rao Padma approached some State leaders and lodged a complaint against Rakesh Reddy. In this connection, Rao Padma reportedly issued a show cause notice to Rakesh Reddy, seeking his explanation by April 8. One of the allegations is that Rakesh was working to promote himself rather than for the party's growth.

Meanwhile, Rakesh Reddy's followers wonder how a district president could issue a show cause notice to a State leader. They contend that Rakesh was doing nothing wrong with his NGO. "Union Minister G Kishan Reddy has Bharat Mata Foundation, MP Aravind has Dharmapuri Foundation, senior national leader P Muralidhar Rao has Godavari Jala Harati and they are organising programmes on their banners," a BJP leader told The Hans India.