Visakhapatnam: ZPTC member Jallipalle Subhadra is likely to be made Zilla Parishad chairperson. Local MPs and state minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao held a meeting in Visakhapatnam on Thursday evening but could not arrive at a consensus.
At one stage, the MPs asked the agency MLAs to leave the meeting hall. Sources said they have decided to name Subhadra as the chairperson to control the group rivalries in the party in the agency.
Kimudu Sivaratnam was earlier tipped to be the chairperson. She is wife of top YSRC leader Visweswara Raju. Raju was coordinator for Paderu in the 2019 elections but he was dropped in favour of Bhagyalaksmi who won the MLA post. At that time, chief minister and party president Jaganmohan Reddy had assured him that the ZP chairperson post would be given to the family.
However, her candidature was strongly opposed by MP Gotteti Madhavi and the two agency MLAs --Bhagyalakshmi and Chetti Palguna. They neither favoured the other strong contender, MV Lakshmi, daughter of former minister Matyarasa Balaraju. Lakshmi was also convinced by the party leaders to quit her government medical officer post so that she could be made the chairperson.
Sources said Paderu MLA Bhagyalakshmi put forward the name of Jallipalle Subhadra who won the poll from Munchingput. Subhadra’s name has been finalised and will be announced on Friday, these sources said.
For the two vice-chairperson posts, ZPTC of Padmanabham mandal Giribabu and Erle Anuradha have been named by the party high command.
Meanwhile, the stage is set for elections for post of presidents of 52 mandals in Kurnool district and the chairman post for the Zilla Parishad as all the MPPs and ZPTCs would be sworn-in on Friday. Kurnool ZP president has zeroed in on Nossum ZPTC Malkireddy Venkata Subba Reddy, there is speculation on who would be vice-chairmen.
YSRCP leaders said the vice-chairman positions would be given to Kurnool and Adoni divisions as the chairman is from the Nandyal division. It is expected that Christian and Muslim candidates would be picked for the vice-chairman positions.
In Dhone constituency, finance minister Buggana Reddy has tightened the levers and allowing mostly his own nominees and to become mandal presidents. Pathikonda, Yemmiganur, Adoni, Alur, Mantralayam MLAs had lined up their loyalists for the mandal president posts.
Meanwhile, the Mandal Praja Parishad (MPPs)-elected candidates aspiring to become presidents are unhappy over the selections. The Gudur MPP-elect Narasimha Reddy staged a dharna along with his supporters at Nagalapuram in protest against alleged interference of Kodumur MLA Sudhakar Babu who, he suspects, played a role in denying him a chance to become the president of Gudur mandal.
The behind-the-scene machinations have been going in several mandals as the respective MLAs are calling the shots in the selection of mandal presidents.
