Differences crop up in Bhadrachalam Congress over deputy sarpanch election; BRS puts up strong show in Khammam

A clash between MLA Tellam Venkat Rao and former MLA Podem Veeraiah over the deputy sarpanch post in Bhadrachalam highlighted internal discord in the Congress, even as the BRS registered significant gains across Khammam and Kothagudem in the gram panchayat elections.

Kothagudem: Even as the BRS put up a strong show in Khammam by winning several crucial gram panchayats, the neighbouring district saw the Congress facing internal trouble. This came to the fore in the election of the deputy sarpanch of Bhadrachalam gram panchayat, which pushed sitting MLA Tellam Venkat Rao and former MLA Podem Veeraiah into confrontation mode once again.

According to sources, after the election of sarpanch was completed, both factions held a meeting and decided to share the tenure of the deputy sarpanch. They agreed to elect Veeraiah’s follower Chenchu Subba Rao as the deputy sarpanch for the first period. However, when the election took place early on Friday morning, followers of Venkat Rao elected his supporter Ratnam Kavitha as the deputy sarpanch, much to the dismay of Veeraiah and his faction. Veeraiah reportedly expressed anger at the party sarpanch and ward members for failing to honour the agreement.

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Speaking to the media later, Veeraiah said leaders should always give utmost importance to workers who contribute tirelessly to the party. Giving due respect and positions to senior workers and local leaders was essential for maintaining discipline and unity in the party. Referring to the unilateral action by the MLA in electing the deputy sarpanch, he said encouraging new leadership was welcome, but ignoring workers who carried the party flag during difficult times could be detrimental to the party.

Veeraiah warned that if such conditions continued, there was a risk of the party breaking up, which would not benefit anyone. Venkat Rao and Veeraiah have been at odds ever since the MLA joined the Congress after being elected on a BRS ticket in the last Assembly election.

Meanwhile, the BRS made significant gains in the first phase of gram panchayat elections in the erstwhile Khammam district, winning several crucial sarpanch seats, particularly in strongholds of senior Congress leaders.

A striking result came from Raghunadhapalem mandal under the Khammam Assembly segment represented by Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao. Here, BRS-backed candidates won 15 of the 32 sarpanch seats for which polls were held, a performance that party leaders said surpassed expectations. Of the 37 gram panchayats in the mandal, two sarpanch seats were elected unanimously.

Of the 192 sarpanch seats in Khammam district, Congress claimed to have won 136, while the BRS won 34 seats. CPI (M) won ten, CPI won six and others secured six. Twenty sarpanches were elected unanimously. The alliance between the BRS and CPI (M) is understood to have influenced the outcome in several areas.

In Kothagudem, the BRS won 41 sarpanch seats. Congress secured 88, while CPI and CPI (M) won eight seats each. Fourteen seats were elected unanimously. The BRS’s stronger showing has boosted cadre morale across the district.

Meanwhile, due to coordination lapses among election officials and protests by Congress workers, the results in six gram panchayats were delayed and could be announced only in the early hours of Friday. This included the result of the tightly contested Bhadrachalam sarpanch seat, where counting began at 11 pm, keeping the candidates anxious, and the result was declared at 5 am. This was followed by the deputy sarpanch election at 6 am. Punem Krishna of the Congress eventually won the sarpanch post.