Internal bickering turns headache for Congress ahead of padayatra in Adilabad

Factionalism among Congress leaders in Nirmal, Adilabad, and Mancherial threatens to derail the upcoming padayatra by Meenakshi Natarajan and TPCC chief Mahesh Kumar Goud. Infighting continues across constituencies, raising questions over unity in Telangana’s northern districts.

Adilabad: Internal bickering among Congress leaders has emerged as a major concern ahead of the padayatra by AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan and TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud, scheduled in the erstwhile Adilabad district on Sunday and Monday.

Factionalism within the party in both Nirmal and Adilabad districts has long been a thorn in the side of the Congress. District Congress Committee (DCC) president K Srihari and former minister A Indrakaran Reddy are reportedly leading rival factions. In Bhainsa, constituency in-charge Narayana Rao Patel and former MLA Vittal Reddy are openly at odds.

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In Adilabad district, Khanapur MLA Vedma Bojju and senior leader Athram Suguna are engaged in a turf war for control over the party. Similarly, supporters of party leaders Kandi Srinivas Reddy and Boranchu Srikanth Reddy have been clashing frequently.

Even at the district level, DCC chief Vishwaprasad and party in-charge A Shyam Naik have publicly confronted each other at party events, further exposing the deep divisions within the organisation.

In Mancherial, the friction continues between local MLA Kokkirala Premsagar Rao and Minister Dr G Vivekanand. The two had competed for a Cabinet berth, which eventually went to Vivekanand. The resentment is evident, as Rao is reportedly not inviting Vivekanand to programmes in the Mancherial segment.

With such internal factionalism brewing across segments, there is considerable interest in how Meenakshi Natarajan will manage the padayatra. Party cadres across the district are hopeful that the padayatra might help resolve ongoing disputes and restore some cohesion among elected representatives and party functionaries.

As per the tour schedule, Natarajan will enter Khanapur Assembly constituency at Badankurthi village on Sunday and stay overnight. She will participate in a Shramadanam programme in Khanapur on August 4.