WARANGAL: Once, the Warangal district was one of the strongest footholds for the Congress, but with groupism and clashes between the leaders to show their supremacy, along with the shifting of some leaders into the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, the Congress is struggling to regain its past glory in the district.
With many key leaders like Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Konda Sureka, Konda Muralidhar Rao, Naini Rajendar Reddy, Donthi Madhava Reddy, A. Venkatram Reddy, Seethakka, Redya Naik, Gandra Venkatarama Reddy, Baswaraju Saraiah, and Thatikonda Rajaiah, it became impossible for other parties to make their presence felt in the district.
But after the formation of Telangana state, some of the key leaders like Redya Naik from Dornakal, Gandra Venkatarama Reddy from Bhupalpally, Baswaraju Saraiah from Warangal, and Thatikonda Rajaiah from Station Ghanpur shifted their loyalties to the ruling BRS party.
With recent developments that took place with the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi in the country, the Haath Se Haath Jodo pada yatra which is being led by TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy in the state, and especially with the Rythu Sangarshana Sabha that was held in the Warangal district, over which Rahul Gandhi presided, once again the Congress party in the erstwhile Warangal district was rejuvenated.
When the party was preparing to fight back and reclaim its lost grip and strong foothold in the district, group politics among some of the leaders, particularly in the Hanamkonda and Jangaon districts, was causing the party leadership problems.
With Revanth Reddy’s Haath Se Haath Jodo pada yatra entering the Hanamkonda Assembly segment on Monday, group politics resurfaced in the Warangal Congress between the DCC presidents of Hanamkonda and Jangaon districts.
The former DCC president of Jangaon district, Janga Raghava Reddy, who contested from the Palakurthi Assembly segment and was defeated by the panchayat raj minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, erected the flexies, buntings, hoardings, and huge cutouts welcoming Revanth Reddy without the photos of Hanamkonda DCC president Naini Rajendar at various locations in the Hanamkonda district.
The Hanamkonda district Congress party second rung leaders claimed that when Hanamkonda DCC president Naini Rajendar Reddy sacrificed his ticket due to the Congress forming an alliance with other parties in the previous Assembly elections, Raghava Reddy worked hard in the constituency for the same Assembly ticket, creating confusion among the cadre.
On several occasions, Rajendar Reddy brought the issue to the attention of the state party leadership and urged them to take immediate action, but in vain, they added.
One of the Congress leaders speaking to the Deccan Chronicle under the condition of anonymity alleged that since the state party leadership was not rigid on taking firm decisions against indiscipline leaders, some of the Congress leaders are acting as coverts to the BRS and were trying to weaken the party in the district.
The Congress has the potential to grab maximum six to eight Assembly seats out of the 12 present in the erstwhile Warangal district since a large number of people still believe in Congress, but with such behaviour by its leaders, there is a danger of losing faith among the people, he added.
