Infighting in BRS? Hyderabad mayor faces ire of own party cadre; 'Go back' slogans raised

All does not seem fine in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) as protests took place against the party's Mayor from Hyderabad Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Gadwal Vijayalakshmi on Tuesday, December 20. 'Mayor, go back' slogans were raised by followers of party MLA Bethi Subhas Reddy as Gadwal Vijayalakshmi arrived for the inauguration of the development works in Chilkanagar, Uppal. The protesters were angry over Bethi Subhas Reddy not being invited to the program.

All not well in BRS? 

Vijayalakshmi claimed that the Zonal commissioner of GHMC had invited the Mayor and also the MLA along with the local corporator to the program. However, Bethi Subhas Reddy suggested that the program be rescheduled.

"If he has not turned up even today, who is at fault?" asked an angry mayor. "I am the Mayor. I don't do it," she shot back when the MLA's supporters suggested that she could have called up the MLA.

Pertinently, just a day ago, five BRS MLAs including Subhas Reddy had raised a banner of revolt against labour minister Malla Reddy who comes from the same district. They held a meeting and alleged that the minister was nominating his own men to the key posts.

The differences have started cropping up in the party days after the formal launch of BRS into national politics, on December 9. Seeking to expand its electoral footprint beyond Telangana, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in October had changed its name to BRS with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao eyeing a national role ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. With this move, the TRS hopes to take on the BJP and emerge as a national force to reckon with by bringing together like-minded opposition parties.

Image: Republic World