Telangana: Infighting gnaws away at TRS

HYDERABAD:  The ruling TRS, which is aiming to score a century in the next Assembly elections, has been beset with groupism. A day after an audio clip, purportedly of MLC Patnam Mahender Reddy, went viral, Tanduru MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy said on Thursday that he was the ‘winning horse’ and exuded confidence that he would get the TRS ticket in the next Assembly elections too. 

Their rivalry is not an isolated incident in the TRS, the number of leaders with strained relations with their party colleagues are too many to ignore for the leadership.  While both leaders have lodged complaints against each other, on Thursday, Rohith Reddy’s followers organised a human chain in Tandur demanding the arrest of the MLC for allegedly abusing the local Circle Inspector. 

Since the time Rohith Reddy joined the TRS from Congress, the Tandur unit of the pink party has witnessed intense political rivalry.  The situation is similar in several other contituencies, especially where the MLAs were elected on Congress ticket and switched loyalties to the TRS after the 2018 polls. 

In some segments, the relations between the TRS MLAs and district Ministers are strained, to say the least, while in other constituencies, the TRS MLAs are facing rebel-trouble from district leaders.  However, the TRS leadership is tightlipped over the storm brewing within the party. Asked about the dissidence within the TRS, a senior party functionary refused to comment. 

In Warangal East, MLA N Narender has not been able to mainta-in good ties with Panchayat Raj Minister E Dayakar Rao. There are differences between Mahabubabad MLA Banoth Shankar Naik and MP Maloth Kavitha. Shankar Naik had even snatched away the mike from Kavitha at a recent meeting. Senior leaders like former Deputy CM T Rajaiah and another former Deputy CM K Srihari -- are not even on talking terms. 

Former Ministers Jupally Krishna Rao in Mahabubnagar district and Thummala Nageswara Rao in Khammam were not happy after the party sidelined them. However, they met recently and discussed their future plans. 

Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar recently alleged that “pseudo-Chowdaries” were targetting him.
In Kothagudem, during a bike rally some former councillors, hit the motorcycle on which Municipal chairperson K Sitha Lakshmi was travelling. She alleged that district party president Rega Kantha Rao was not taking any action against her opponents.

There are also minor differences among TRS leaders in Amberpet, Musheerabad, Secunderabad and other Assembly segments.  In Adilabad, the infighting among TRS leaders continues in Boath Assembly segment, where MLA Bapu Rao Rathod locked horns with former MLA G Nagesh. In Khanapur, there is no unity between MLA Rekha Naik and Zilla Parishad chairperson Rathod Janardhan. Now, a civil servant’s name is tipped for Khanapur TRS ticket in 2023 elections. 

Trouble in paradise

• Infighting is most visible in contituencies where the MLAs were elected on Congress ticket and switched loyalties to the TRS
• In some segments, the relations between the TRS MLAs and district Ministers are strained, to say the least
• The TRS leadership remains tightlipped over the storm brew-ing within, even as the party aims to score big in the 2023 polls
• Asked about the dissidence within the TRS, a senior party functionary refused to comment