GUNTUR: The hotbed of faction politics, Narsaraopet, is on the edge again as Kasu Mahesh Reddy, son of former Minister Kasu Krishna Reddy, is joining the YSR Congress Party on Friday.
YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will attend the meeting, which will begin with a massive road show.
With Mr. Mahesh Reddy, scion of the powerful Kasu family, keen on putting on a show of strength, and the local TDP groups keen on scuttling the momentum, the police are bracing up for a eventful day on Friday. Over the last four decades, the Kasu family produced a Chief Minister, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, the longest serving Congress Chief Minister, a minister Kasu Krishna Reddy, and even now enjoys the popular support of a large base of supporters spread in Palnadu region.
Mr. Mahesh Reddy said that he was invited by Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy to join the party. “I have known Mr. Jagan as a friend over the last many years. I am joining the party without any conditions, and I will work for strengthening the party and expose the misdeeds of the TDP government,” Mr. Mahesh Reddy said on Wednesday.
Superintendent of Police, Guntur Rural, K. Narayan Naik visited the town late on Tuesday evening and held discussions with the police and local party leaders. Mr. Naik suggested that the meeting could be held in a walled compound to prevent any untoward incident. But the YSRC leaders insist that they would prefer a public meeting on Palnadu Road.
The run up to the meeting on Friday has not been without any incident. A minor skirmish between TDP and YSRC supporters during a rally held at Ravipadu on Sunday indicated the levels of tension on the ground.
“We will not tolerate any disturbance to the law and order, and we have made clear that permission would not be given for a meeting on a road. The organisers have been advised to prefer a school or college ground,” Mr. Naik said.
