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The rumblings within the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh seem to be growing louder. Differences among leaders are surfacing in public, defections have begun and charges of corruption are on the rise as Chandrababu Naidu completes three years in office.
Silpa Mohan Reddy, a strong leader from Kurnool district, quitting the party to join the YSR CP is the latest in a series of troubling developments for Naidu.
Last week, party MLC Deepak Reddy was arrested on charges of involvement in land deals in Hyderabad by the Telangna police.
The open differences over the past few weeks between ministers Ghanta Srinivasa Rao and Ayyana Patrudu of Visakhapatnam have caused quite a consternation in the party circles. It’s no secret that the two have been battling for supremacy in the district ever since the bifurcation of AP in 2014.
State Human Resources Minister Srinivas Rao reportedly dashed off a letter to Naidu against Patrudu and the falling party image in the district.
Similarly, the simmering rivalry between the factions led by Karnam Balaram (MLC) and Gottipati Ravikumar (MLA) in Prakasam district has led to violence.
The trouble arose after the defection of Ravikumar who won on a YSR CP ticket in 2014, to the TDP later, much against the wishes of Balaram.
Closer to the capital, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Nani’s utterances — that the alliance with the BJP had cost the party dear, especially in the district — caused a minor stir.
BJP president Amit Shah had declared in a public meeting in May in Vijayawada that his party’s growth march would begin right there, raising a political storm.
Naidu has decided to crack the whip and stem the simmering issues. At a top-level party meeting in Amaravati today, the CM discussed at length the issues confronting them.
Land scamConsequently, the party decided to suspend Deepak Reddy immediately and constituted a three-member committee to look into allegations of land scam in Visakhapatnam.
He also sent a stern warning to the warring groups and leaders to not air differences in public and iron out matters.
YSR CP spokesperson Roja, meanwhile, demanded a CBI probe into the land scam in Visakhapatnam. Terming the SIT probe an eyewash, she asked why the CM was afraid of a CBI probe.
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