Telangana: Ahead of civic polls, infighting plagues TRS

HYDERABAD: Notwithstanding TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao’s hard talk that indiscipline and groupism would not be tolerated, the party leadership is very much worried about infighting and differences within the party in various districts ahead of the January 22 municipal elections. The party leadership believes this could impact the results though it is confident of winning the elections.
Sources said the party was particularly wary about two groups operating in every district.While one group consists of leaders who have been with the party for a long time, the other group has members and leaders who have joined TRS after 2014. Soon after the 2014 elections, the party inducted several MLAs, MPs and MLCs and this has resulted in infighting within the party as one group tries to dominate the other.

Sources said groupism and infighting was seen more in erstwhile Mahbubnagar, Karimnagar, Khammam, Rangareddy and Nizamabad districts. “KCR and working president KT Rama Rao are well aware of groups and warned leaders in the last assembly, Lok Sabha and also local bodies elections. Some leaders were denied a ticket and some were kept out of the loop,” a senior leader explained.
KCR, who addressed the party workers a few days ago, made it very clear that groupism has no place in TRS. He spoke with former Medchal MLA M Sudheer Reddy who wanted more tickets for his followers in the coming polls. Ch Malla Reddy, who joined TRS and contested the 2018 elections from Medchal, is a minister now, while Sudheer is sulking.
In Khammam, former minister Tummala Nageswara Rao and minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar represent two groups and in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district, former minister Jupally Krishna Rao and Kollapur MLA Beeram Harshavardhan Reddy, who joined the party after 2018 elections, do not see eye to eye and share the dais. Supporters of both the groups came to near blows in the gram panchayat elections held a few months ago.
In Karimnagar district, Manakonduru MLA Rasamayi Balakishan does not get along with other leaders and has alleged that some persons had tried to defeat him in the elections. “Infighting within TRS has gone up in recent times. It’s a worry for the leadership,” a senior leader added.