The absence of Venkatareddy, brother of K Rajagopal Reddy, in a Congress functionaries' meeting is a further headache for the party.
The by-election for the Munugode Assembly seat was triggered by the resignation of Congress legislator Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy. (krgreddy/Facebook)
The impending by-election for the Munugode Assembly seat in the Nalgonda district in Telangana, following the resignation of Congress legislator Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, has set off a chain reaction in the party that is showing no signs of abating.
Rajagopal Reddy’s brother Venkatareddy, who represents the Bhongir constituency in the Lok Sabha, did not attend the party functionaries’ meeting at Chandur in the Munugode constituency on Friday, 5 August, sending out clear signals that he, too, was not very happy with the way the Congress’ affairs were being run in Telangana.
The Mungode Assembly seat is part of the Bhongir Lok Sabha constituency.
The Congress functionaries’ meeting saw important party leaders discuss the way forward in facing the by-election.
The meeting was attended by, among others, Revanth Reddy and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy.
Both Venkatreddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy were in Delhi, but Uttam came down to Chandur to take part in the meeting, while Venkatareddy chose to stay in the national capital, attending a meeting of the finance committee.
Venkatreddy’s critics said that he decided against attending the meeting because he did not want to be part of the exercise that was going on for the by-election under Revanth Reddy’s leadership.
Venkatreddy, who has been gnashing his teeth at Revanth Reddy ever since the latter managed to pip him in the race to the post of the TPCC chief, went full blast against Revanth Reddy on Thursday for coming down on him while criticising his brother.
He said Revanth could target Rajgaopal but not him as he was still in the Congress, and that he was not his brother’s keeper.
Though Revanth had made amends and his broadside was against Rajagopal and not Venkatreddy, it did very little to assuage the rage of the parliamentarian.
Making matters worse, BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar stirred a hornet’s nest with his cryptic comments on Venkatreddy when reporters brought to his notice reports that the MP, too, would switch loyalty to the BJP.
In reply, the saffron party leader said everyone was welcome to join the BJP so long as they had faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also recalled how Venkatareddy fought against TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, and how he showered praise on Modi.
Though Venkatreddy may not take any extreme decision, at least now, he may not hesitate to consider the option as he does not take kindly to Revanth Reddy.
As days go by, the schism in the Congress appears to be deepening, as neither Venkatreddy nor Revanth Reddy seems to be in the mood to work in an atmosphere of mutual trust and accommodation.
The rancour and infighting raging in the party seem to point to Congress living up to its reputation: that it is always a house divided.
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