Nagari MLA R.K. Roja on Sunday met Panchayat Raj Minister P. Ramachandra Reddy at his residence in Tirupati, and demanded the suspension of five MPTC members of Nindra mandal allegedly for “ignoring the party whip” in connection with the MPP president election.
The election had to be stalled on Friday after heated arguments between Ms. Roja and local party leader R. Chakrapani Reddy, who was recently nominated as Chairman of the Srisailam Devasthanam Trust Board.
Of the eight MPTCs in the mandal, seven belonged to the YSRCP and one to the TDP.
When the stage was set to elect a woman MPTC member Deepa as MPP president in tune with the party’s whip, another ruling party MPTC member R. Bhaskar Reddy (younger brother of Mr. Chakrapani Reddy) had staked claim for the post with the support of four others.
At one stage, Mr. Chakrapani Reddy had allegedly challenged Ms. Roja to resign as MLA and contest against him in Nagari. The election of co-option member also went awry after the altercation.
In this backdrop, Ms. Roja’s meeting with the Minister assumed significance.
Senior party leaders observed that when the election of MPP presidents went smoothly all over the district, trouble broke out only in Nindra mandal, which indicated presence of groupism in Ms. Roja’s bastion.
