ADILABAD: Congress leaders heading two groups in old Adilabad district are encouraging many leaders to seek party tickets from various assembly constituencies in the name of strengthening the party and bringing in new leadership before next elections are held.
Ticket aspirants have divided themselves into two groups in some assembly constituencies and are lining up behind their respective group leaders. It is said two senior leaders are doing this with a view to maintaining their supremacy in the district party. These leaders are promising tickets to whoever approaches them.
Such a scenario is prevailing prominently in the three reserved assembly constituencies of Boath, Khanapur and Asifabad.
Former MLC Premsagar Rao and former MLA and chairman of the AICC programme implementation committee for Telangana Aleti Maheshwar Reddy are at it. The differences between these two leaders came to the fore during the Dalit-Girijana Atma Gourava Dandora organised at Indravelli on August 9.
These two are confident of getting party tickets from their Mancherial and Nirmal assembly constituencies respectively.
Maheshwar Reddy is encouraging many leaders who are aspiring for party tickets from Boath assembly constituency where Premsagar Rao has already promoted his nominee and promised him the party ticket for the next election.
In Khanapur assembly constituency, Premsagar Rao and Maheshwar Reddy are encouraging their own groups and leaders for contest and promising them party ticket to all leaders approaching them.
A second-rung Congress leader of Boath said while it is natural that senior leaders encourage younger leaders, it would be worrisome if they encourage five or six ticket aspirants at the same time. This would cause divisions in the party, he noted.
The ticket aspirants are being careful not to rub their leader the wrong way by any action such as attending a birthday celebration, for fear that he or she would be tagged as a member of a rival group.
