Amid the COVID second wave resurgence, a huge internal turmoil is emerging out of the Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and threatens to remove the facade of unity and discipline in the party.
Murmurs and social media chatter became public when party president Bandi Sanjay Kumar released a statement charging senior leaders N. Ramchander Rao and P. Shekar Rao of breaching discipline by meeting TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao in Pragati Bhavan to seek unanimous election for the son of Ramesh Goud from Lingojiguda division in Ranga Reddy district of GHMC.
Whether the bypoll necessitated because of the death of Goud, before he could be sworn in due to Covid, will be held or not under the present public health crisis, the simmering differences among the top leadership is out in the open. A three-member fact-finding team constituted to look into the reasons why the two leaders along with the family of the deceased had to meet KTR “without informing the top leadership” faces an onerous task as the two leaders accused of ‘indiscipline’ are veterans with deep links in the party and the Sangh Parivar.
If certain sections of the party are to be believed, the political drama is a tussle for supremacy between the city-based leaders — who always led the party, and the new leadership from the districts in the form of Mr. Sanjay Kumar plus the mix of caste and communities calculations. Since the party aims to dislodge TRS in the next elections, the power struggle too is inherent, they say.
Having pulled off the Dubbaka byelection victory and leading the party’s spectacular performance in the GHMC polls which followed, the party State president has been riding high. His aggressive posturing has made the TRS leaders squirm and apparently, this issue came up during the “meeting” with KTR and it reached the president’s ears. The angry Karimnagar MP decided to go public with his displeasure catching many leaders off-guard.
“I have been caught in an unintended crossfire. There is no question of crossing the party line as I went with the consent of the party leadership. I went as part of a delegation on humanitarian grounds with the family of the deceased leader. I feel this is a storm in a tea cup, but am ready to face any consequences,” said Mr. Ramchander Rao. “Whatever I had to say I have told the fact finding committee. Let them come out with their report, then I will react,” said Mr. Shekar Rao.
