With less than ten months to go for general elections, internal differences in the TRS have come to fore as the elected councillors and corporators of the party in four municipalities and Ramagundam municipal corporation have moved no-confidence motion against the chairpersons of their own party.
The rebel activity at Ramagundam was led by local MLA and State Road Transport Corporation chairman S. Satyanarayana with 32 of the 50 corporators who upped the ante against the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. At Bodhan municipality, chairman A. Yellaiah incurred the wrath of 29 TRS, Congress, MIM and BJP councillors.
A camp of 29 rebels in a body of 34 councillors of Bellampally municipality was run against the chairperson P. Sunita Rani for last 20 days. The local TRS MLA Durgam Chinnaiah was exposed when the daughter of a councillor who is in the camp recorded his alleged phone conservation, threatening their family, if her mother did not return to party fold.
Motions against Vemulawada and Huzurabad chairpersons were also moved
Interestingly, in Bhongir municipality, chairperson Survi Lavanya won on BJP ticket but shifted to TRS and returned to BJP after two-and-a-half years without honouring the commitment. The Congress has decided to support her, now that she is no longer with the TRS.
The TRS, however, has brushed aside the motions as of no consequence on the fortunes of the party in general elections. Party sources maintained that the dissidence will hardly matter as the municipalities were in the last leg of their term. Moreover, there was no sanctity to the bodies as developmental works were carried out with the funds of government or MPs and MLAs.
Karimnagar MP B. Vinod Kumar said it was natural that some discontent will be left in the councillors against chairpersons after four years but it will be pacified. He added that the rebels took the step because the chairpersons failed to honour their commitment by an arrangement to handover post to the rival group after two-and-a-half years.
The municipal law has prescribed that the no-trust motion can be moved only when the elected bodies have completed four out of their five-year term. In this background, majority members belonging to the rival TRS groups with the backing of other parties have signed the letters in the last couple of days and submitted them to district Collectors or other senior revenue officers. The Collectors will appoint special officers to conduct special general meetings for voting on the motions within a fortnight.