Rebellion by seniors over tickets leaves Congress divided in Jagtial

The Congress party in Jagtial faces a serious internal crisis ahead of municipal elections. Long-time loyalists, sidelined in ticket distribution, are contesting as independents, while newcomers have secured official party tickets.

Karimnagar: It is not unusual for a few leaders to contest as rebels after being denied tickets by their own political parties. However, in Jagtial, a majority of Congress workers who have served the party for decades are now contesting as independent candidates, while newly joined leaders have secured official Congress tickets.

This peculiar situation prevails in the Jagtial unit of the Congress just ahead of the municipal elections.

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The ongoing conflict between local MLA Dr Sanjay Kumar and senior Congress leader T Jeevan Reddy is cited as the primary reason for the present state of affairs.

The rift between the two leaders began with the defection of Sanjay Kumar from the BRS to the Congress party. Jeevan Reddy was reportedly unhappy over the induction of the local MLA into the party without his knowledge.

Since then, Jeevan Reddy has been voicing his dissent against the party leadership whenever an opportunity arose. Despite this, the State Congress leadership has continued to give priority to Sanjay Kumar, ignoring Jeevan Reddy’s objections.

This was once again reflected during the allocation of tickets for the Jagtial municipality elections. While the MLA’s group secured 35 tickets, only 15 followers of Jeevan Reddy received party B-forms, against a total of 50 wards in the municipality.

Upset over the ticket allocation, one admirer of the senior Congress leader reportedly attempted suicide by dousing himself with diesel. Angered by the party’s decision, Jeevan Reddy decided to field his followers as independent candidates.

Apart from encouraging his supporters to remain in the fray, he has also been campaigning in their favour by touring various wards. During door-to-door campaigns, Jeevan Reddy appealed to voters to support his candidates.

While informing voters about the new election symbols allotted to his followers, he expressed regret, stating that their original Congress election symbol, the hand, had been illegally taken away from them by newly joined leaders.

On the other hand, former BRS councillors who were elected to the previous municipal body are also contesting from their respective wards.

While campaigning, Sanjay Kumar told voters that only the election symbol had changed and that the same candidates were contesting in their wards.

The Congress party, though in power in the State, risks losing the opportunity in Jagtial due to internal infighting.