Udayagiri YSRCP MLA Mekapati Chandrasekhara Reddy is facing a strange predicament. He is being opposed by his party men. They are taking to streets protesting against him. The distance between the leader and the cadre is growing by each passing day. The differences, which have come to fore during the recent local body elections, are only growing.

As a result of the growing divide, the MPP elections have been postponed twice so far. The YSRCP workers have staged a dharna in front of the Vinjamuru MPDO office protesting against the activities of their own MLA. There are also allegations that the MLA has appointing leaders to the party posts for a price in Varikuntapadu area. The cadre has even alleged that the MLA was on a money-minting spree and that he was taking bribes for even small jobs. The situation has come to such a pass that the YSRCP activists have called a press conference to slam the MLA.

Interestingly, Mekapati Chandrasekhara Reddy is a close relative of Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy. But, the minister refused to intervene in the affairs of Udayagiri constituency. Meanwhile, Mekapati Chandrasekhara Reddy’s detractors say that he had lost in the 2014 elections only because he had alienated the party workers. Though he had won in the 2019 elections riding a YS Jagan wave, he has not learnt any lessons, they say.

YSRCP cadres say that the Udayagiri MLA is being controlled by an “unseen” force, who is directing his every move. It’s because of this force that the MLA is fast alienating his supporters, they argue. As of now the party leadership in Tadepalli is making no effort to patch up the differences between the MLA and the cadre.