Congress faces internal rumblings in Telangana amid reports of MLAs’ secret meeting

Internal dissent has resurfaced in the Telangana Congress following the municipal elections, with reports of a secret meeting of MLAs and speculation over senior leader T Jeevan Reddy quitting the party. Discussions on Cabinet expansion have further heightened tensions within the ruling party

Hyderabad: Internal dissent, which usually surfaces in the Congress during elections, has resurfaced again in Telangana. While such mutiny was seen during the Assembly and Parliament elections and subsided later, the situation appears different after the recent municipal elections, with simmering discontent now turning into a serious issue.

Reports of senior Congress leader T Jeevan Reddy planning to quit the party are already doing the rounds. At the same time, news of a secret dinner meeting reportedly attended by several MLAs has created fresh concern for the ruling party in the state.

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Following the internal turmoil during the municipal elections, several leaders, including Jeevan Reddy, were disappointed after their supporters were denied party tickets. Discontent grew further after some leaders were not considered for Rajya Sabha nominations earlier this month. Even as the state leadership is trying to patch up differences, the reported dinner meeting hosted by a senior MLA has added fuel to the growing discord among party leaders. About 15 MLAs were invited to the dinner meeting, of whom nine from Rangareddy, Mahabubnagar, Warangal and Nizamabad districts are learnt to have attended. Though the meeting was said to focus on party affairs, the legislators are believed to have discussed a range of issues, including the lack of constituency development funds and the difficulty in convincing people about unfulfilled promises.

More importantly, the legislators are learnt to have discussed the possibility of a Cabinet expansion. The senior MLA who hosted the meeting, and who has been aspiring for a Cabinet berth for a long time, is believed to have sought the support of other MLAs to press the party high command to fulfil the promise allegedly made during the 2023 Assembly elections.

Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy, Ibrahimpatnam MLA Malreddy Rangareddy and a few other legislators have been seeking a Cabinet berth for the past two years. In addition, Mahabubnagar MLA Yennem Srinivas Reddy had openly criticised the Congress government over the lack of constituency development funds. He had also pointed out that apart from attending marriages and social functions, MLAs hardly had funds to take up development works in their constituencies.

Rajgopal Reddy, meanwhile, has been vocal in his criticism of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his style of functioning. He had even questioned whether the party was “Rahul Congress or Revanth Congress” after the Chief Minister remarked that he would continue in the position in the next term as well. With the ruling Congress preparing to confront opposition parties in the Assembly during the upcoming budget session, these internal developments have left the state leadership concerned.