Premsagar Rao’s close aide unveils Venkata Swamy statue in Mancherial

Manthena Jaganmohan Rao, once a close aide of Mancherial MLA K Premsagar Rao, unveiled former minister Gaddam Venkataswamy’s statue at the railway station on Thursday. The move has triggered political speculation amid reported differences between Jaganmohan Rao and Premsagar Rao.

Mancherial: Manthena Jaganmohan Rao, once a close aide of Mancherial MLA K Premsagar Rao, unveiled a statue of former minister Gaddam Venkataswamy at the railway station in Mancherial on Thursday, creating a flutter. The statue was covered with a cloth following alleged internal bickering between Labour Minister G Vivek and Premsagar Rao for quite some time.

Jaganmohan Rao and former Mancherial municipal chairperson Uppalaiah unveiled the statue, cleansed it with milk and then garlanded it. The development has created a flutter in political circles of the district. It has widened the gap further between Jaganmohan Rao and Premsagar Rao. Security was heightened at a junction near Jaganmohan Rao’s residence. Premsagar Rao and Vivek have not responded to the incident so far.

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Exposing differences between Jaganmohan Rao and Premsagar Rao, Jaganmohan Rao has been moving closely with Vivek after parting ways with the legislator a few months ago. He appeared at Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s public meeting held in Sangareddy district recently, strengthening the rift.

Jaganmohan Rao reportedly formed a faction against Premsagar Rao and was planning to contest from the Mancherial Assembly constituency in forthcoming elections. He used to be a staunch follower of Mancherial MLA and was once known as the shadow of the legislator. He was alleged to have been settling land disputes by accepting commissions on behalf of Premsagar Rao.