BRS workers who support Station Ghanpur MLA Thatikonda Rajaiah protested in Zaffergadh, Jangaon district on Sunday. Rajaiah’s followers are upset that the BRS leadership chose Kadiyam Srihari as the candidate for the Station Ghanpur seat instead of Rajaiah. Rajaiah had agreed to support the BRS candidate despite not being chosen. However, he broke down in front of his supporters and said he would not go against KCR and will work for the BRS candidate’s victory. The BRS leadership sent Palla Rajeshwar Reddy to console Rajaiah, but he refused to meet him. Palla assured Rajaiah’s supporters that their leader will have a suitable position in the government.
A few days later, Rajaiah participated in a government program and expressed his disappointment at losing the ticket. He still hopes that KCR will change his decision and give him the ticket. This led to rumors spreading. On Sunday, Rajaiah’s supporters in Zaffergadh and Dharmasagar held rallies demanding that the BRS leadership reconsider their decision and choose Rajaiah as the candidate. They argue that Srihari doesn’t have the support of the Scheduled Castes and that Rajaiah has a strong following among them.
The BRS leadership needs to address this dissent before it becomes a bigger issue and benefits the opposition parties, according to Rajaiah’s supporters. Additionally, they question why Rajaiah was not treated similarly to Vemulawada sitting BRS MLA Chennamaneni Ramesh, who was appointed as an advisor to the State Government on Agriculture with Cabinet Minister Rank for five years.
The rivalry between Kadiyam Srihari and Thatikonda Rajaiah dates back to 2004 when they were in different political parties. Despite being in the same party now, their rivalry remains. Rajaiah became the first deputy chief minister of Telangana in 2014 but was later replaced by Srihari in 2015.
