As leaders joining rival parties to get poll ticket, followers in a fix
Karimnagar/Warangal: Several leaders who failed to get tickets for the assembly polls are changing parties with the ease of a chameleon in Telangana in recent days.
Leaders who have been with a party for a long time are suddenly ditching it and seeking the ticket from other parties. With no qualms, they shift their loyalty to a rival party and start praising it.
Partymen following such unscrupulous leaders at the state or district level are confused with the sudden volte-face of these fortune-hunters
Challa Narayana Reddy who was in the Congress party for decades and served as Sarpanch to ZTPC or held various nominated posts hails from Kataram mandal of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. He shifted his loyalty to the ruling BRS party a few years ago. He sought the MLA ticket along with Peddapalli ZP chairman Putta Madhukar for the Manthani assembly segment.
When Narayana Reddy was denied the party ticket, he did not seek a return to the Congress party as D Sridhar Babu was the MLA of the tricolur party in the Manthani assembly segment. Instead, Reddy shifted his loyalty to the BJP. He joined the saffron party in the presence of the state party chief G Kishan Reddy. However, when the BJP allotted the MLA ticket to Sunil Reddy, Narayana walked over to the BSP and got its MLA ticket from the Manthani constituency.
In Warangal West, BJP official spokesperson Anugula Rakesh Reddy who had a good following among the youths, tried hard to get the MLA ticket, but the nomination went to Rao Padma. Rakesh Reddy swiftly resigned from the party. Later, Rakesh Reddy joined the BRS party in the presence of the IT minister KT Rama Rao, and MLC Kadiyam Srihari.
Former MLA Arepally Mohan from the Congress party joined the BRS, expecting the MLA ticket from Manakondur. But when KCR announced the names of sitting MLAs as the party candidates, he lost hope and joined the BJP to take the MLA ticket.
Vodithala Pranav Rao, the grandson of former MP Rajeshwar Rao, was in the BRS party and sought the MLA ticket but when the party nominated MLC Padi Koushik Reddy for the seat, he resigned and walked over to the Congress party and got the MLA ticket.
Before changing their loyalty, all the leaders were sharply attacking the rival parties and highlighting their failures. But, after joining such parties, they suddenly changed their plate and started praising these parties and bad-mouthing their former party.
The followers of these turn-coats are red-faced. They are in a dilemma whether to follow these leaders or stand where they are.
