Roja faces uphill task in Nagari as opponents refuse to budge

Tirupati: Amidst the fervour surrounding the announcement of the YSRCP Nagari candidate, internal tensions in the party began to intensify further, particularly among the mandal level leaders. The incumbent MLA and minister, R K Roja, found herself at the centre of this brewing discontent, feeling the mounting pressure from dissatisfied factions within the party.

Despite concerted efforts to quell the dissent, the rival group remained vehemently opposed to Roja’s candidature. Nevertheless, the party leadership opted to place its trust in Roja, banking on the belief that announcing her ticket would bring down the dissidence.

However, the opposition faction remained resolute in their stance, refusing to lend their support or cooperate with Roja's campaign. In an attempt to mediate the escalating conflict and ensure a smooth path for their candidate, the party high command swiftly intervened, summoning the dissident leaders to Tadepalli for discussions on Monday.

Among those called upon were Srisailam Devasthanam chairman Chakrapani Reddy and party state BC cell general secretary Yelumalai and MPTC member Bhaskar Reddy. Despite Tadepalli visit, no meeting with the top brass took place on Monday. Instead, they were informed to await till Tuesday for further instructions.

Amid suspicions that a meeting including Roja was in the offing, these leaders reportedly opted to return to their constituency without acceding to the party's request. This move underscored the deep-seated divisions within the party, casting a shadow over the prospects for unity ahead of the upcoming elections.

The discontent among a section of the party second-rung leadership is not new for Roja. Almost all ZPTC members in the constituency came out openly opposing party ticket to her this time. A municipal councillor also earlier alleged that she gave some huge amounts of money to Roja’s brother to get municipal chairperson post but was shown the door.

A member of the rival group told The Hans India that they were not ready for any compromise on the candidature. “Having faced so much humiliation for the past few years, we do not want to tie up with the party candidate anymore. We wanted to tell the same to the party high command at the meeting in Tadepalli but that meeting was not held on Monday,” he said.

The dissident leaders are of the view that they should keep silent in this election and in no way extend any cooperation to the party candidate again. It has to be seen how the party think tank will deal with the dissidence in the party and turn things in favour of Roja who has been busy meeting the people of the constituency seeking their support for her hat-trick victory.