One party …. two leaders….. one constituency…. two offices. …this in short sums up the plight of ruling YSRCP in Hindupur assembly constituency. The problem is instead of fighting the TDP, these two groups fight among themselves and pave way for a TDP victory in any election. This has been the sorry story in 2019 and this is the story even now.

In fact, it is this group rivalry that has helped Nandamuri Balakrishna win for the second time in a row from Hindupur. The YSRCP in Hindupur is divided between Naveen Nishal and Mohammad Iqbal. Nischal is a loyal YSRCP leader, who has a long history of fighting the TDP. Iqbal is a retired IPS officer who had contested from Hindupur in 2019. Since then, both the leaders are trying to undercut one another.

To put an end to the group fight, the YSRCP leadership has made Iqbal the assembly constituency incharge and Nishal the parliamentary constituency incharge. Later, Iqbal was made the MLC and Nischal the chairperson of the Agro Development Corporation. Instead of bringing rapprochement, it only added fuel to the fire. Now both the groups have opened separate offices in the Housing Board Colony of Hindupur.

Meanwhile, another controversy arose when Nischal appointed two conveners for Hindupur rural and Lepakshi mandals. However, Iqbal said these two conveners would not be recognised. He said he has not been consulted on the issue and said that since he was the constituency incharge, he must be consulted before making any appointment. While the party’s top leadership is looking for ways and means to defeat Nandamuri Balakrishna, both the YSRCP leaders are busy fighting one another.