Leaders Shifting Loyalties Before Civic Polls, Seeking Greener Pastures

Adilabad: Several politicians are switching their loyalties and joining other parties in the run-up to the municipal elections.

Senior Congress leader, former ZP vice chairman and market committee chairman of Chennur, Moola Rajireddy, quit the party after citing differences with labour minister Gaddam Vivek.

Former Adilabad municipal chairperson Rangineni Manisha quit the BRS due to differences with former minister Jogu Ramanna.

Rajireddy would join the BRS in the presence of its working president K.T. Rama Rao in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Along with his supporters, including sarpanches and former ZPTCs, Rajireddy would reach Hyderabad in a convoy of 100 vehicles to join the BRS. Rajireddy protested against Vivek’s “autocratic attitude and unilateral decisions.”

Meanwhile, Rangineni Manisha is trying to field her own candidates in 49 wards across the Adilabad municipality. She is trying to get the B Forms from Forward Bloc for her candidates.

The Forward Bloc party’s symbol, Lion, is popular among the people. Many leaders contested with this party’s tickets in assembly and parliament elections and got good votes.

In one instance, a BRS rebel candidate, who contested with a Forward Bloc ticket, had been elected as MLA from Ramagundam.

Rumours are that, after the civic elections, Mainsha and her team would join the Jagruti led by the former MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha. Manisha alleged that former minister Jogu Ramanna damaged her political career by denying her the party ticket to contest as a ward councillor in the last elections. Ramanna’s worry was that she might compete with him for the chairman post.

Some former councillors and ticket aspirants are switching their loyalties. Congress party’s former councilor Tulasi Goud and her husband Narsa Goud joined the BJP in the presence of MLA Aleti Maheshwar Reddy two days ago.

Many ticket aspirants are planning to change their parties if they do not get their party’s B Form to contest in the civic polls.

Competition is stiff for the Congress tickets as the party is in power. Many inactive leaders became active after the party rode to power.

A senior woman Congress leader of Adilabad said, "Many Congress leaders were not interested in contesting as ward councillors with the party’s B Form in the last municipal elections, but this time, there’s a scramble for tickets.”

The leader recalled, “We had forcefully fielded many candidates on behalf of the party last time, if only to show the Congress presence in the municipal elections. We were not getting sufficient candidates to field then.”