Local TRS leaders in Munugode oppose ticket to Prabhakar Reddy

HYDERABAD: Local TRS leaders in byelection-bound Munugode Assembly constituency are stepping up pressure on the party leadership to deny a ticket to former MLA Kusukuntla Prabhakar Reddy.

Few local leaders, such as ZPTCs and MPTCs, have quit the TRS to join the BJP in the last two days in protest against the party's support for Prabhakar Reddy's candidacy, despite the fact that the party has yet to officially declare its candidate. A few more TRS sarpanches have threatened to defect to the BJP if the party favours Prabhakar Reddy.

On Wednesday, Chandur ZPTC Karnati Venkatesham, MPTCs Avvaru Githa and Cheripally Bhaskar quit TRS and joined the BJP in the presence of former Munugode MLA and BJP leader Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy. The unexpected development stunned the TRS in Nalgonda district, where the ZPTC and MPTCs had been actively campaigning for TRS alongside energy minister G. Jagadish Reddy until Tuesday. They are said to be Jagadish Reddy's most ardent supporters.

The party leadership immediately went into damage control mode, calling agitation programmes in areas represented by ZPTC and MPTCs in response to their defection into BJP. The party is attempting to keep its flock together and prevent future defections.

According to reports, a few more local leaders, including sarpanches from a few villages, have threatened to quit the TRS and join the BJP if the party gives Prabhakar Reddy a ticket. Local party leaders believe that the party leadership has already decided on Prabhakar Reddy’s candidacy and that the announcement is merely a formality because only Prabhakar Reddy and minister Jagadish Reddy are permitted to participate in the party's campaign.