Congress infighting leaves Bhatti’s march a flop in Nalgonda

Congress Party sources said all the meetings that Bhatti addressed had less than 1,000 persons to hear him

Nalgonda: The ‘people’s’ march of Congress Legislature Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has turned out to be a flop in the district, courtesy the senior leaders of his own party.

The padayatra, which is in fact serving to expose the sour episodes of factionism within the Congress more than getting the party closer to the people ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections, saw senior leaders from the district, right from K Jana Reddy to N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, completely ignoring the march even when it passed through their constituencies.

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Bhatti’s padayatra had entered the district on June 7 at Chandampet of Devarakonda Assembly constituency. However, despite efforts to make it a grand event, the total absence of senior leaders to welcome him kept the event a low key affair. The padayatra of the CLP leader, in fact, failed to draw the attention of the people as well, and not just his partymen with most of the meetings turning out to be poorly attended ones. Apart from a few second rung district leaders of the party, there was no mass participation in the march, with his own party cadre deserting Bhatti.

Party sources said all the meetings that Bhatti addressed had less than 1,000 persons to hear him. Even his birthday celebrations at Guttakindi Chennaram in the district on June 15, for which all senior leaders were reportedly invited as well, turned out to be another exhibition of the ugly factionism in the party, with Jana Reddy, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy staying away from the celebrations. The unveiling of a pylon at Gummadavilli to mark completion of 1,000 km of the People’s March, as Bhatti calls it, too saw these leaders deciding to ignore the CLP leader’s efforts to drum up some support for the party.

Another senior Congress leader Ramreddy Damodar Reddy had in fact expressed his anger the route of the march in Suryapet district and forced Bhatti Vikramarka to change the route to how Damodar Reddy wanted it. As if all these were not enough, the internal turmoil spilled out onto the streets when followers of Congress leaders Ravi Naik and Balu Naik clashed at Devarakonda in the presence of Bhatti Vikramarka.

Another Congress leader Cheruku Sudhakar, who submitted a memorandum to Vikramarka, made copies of the memorandum targeting Komatireddy Venkat Reddy public as well, laying bare the condition of the party in Nalgonda, once considered a Congress bastion.