Minister for Tourism and Culture, R K Roja, is having tough days ahead of the 2024 general elections. She is having dissidence within her own YSR Congress Party for the past some time. Unable to compromise with them, she had been keeping the rivals at a distance aggravating the trouble.
She is having trouble with Srisailam temple trust board chairman, Chakrapani Reddy, Nagari Municipal former chairman K J Kumar, State Eediga Corporation chairperson K J Santhi and others in the constituency. These leaders are said to have the blessings of senior minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy.
Unable to broker peace with the senior cabinet colleague, Roja is having her own team in the constituency and is not involving the rebels in her programmes. She could not even try to have a word with minister Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy to keep the folks together and thus keep the party strong.
The two factions are openly criticising each other creating confusion among the rank and file of the party at the grassroots. This is leading to big trouble for the minister for her hat-trick victory in the 2024 elections. She has won the 2014 and 2019 general elections and is aiming to repeat the victory for the third time.
On the contrary, party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is firm on winning every Assembly seat in the next elections. Besides retaining the 151 seats that the party had won in the 2019 elections, Jagan Mohan Reddy had set his eyes on wresting the 23 seats won by the TDP.
Jagan Mohan Reddy is targeting the Kuppam Assembly constituency in Chittoor district which is represented by TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu. He is also targeting some key constituencies in the state which are now held by the TDP.
In this backdrop, Jagan Mohan Reddy is not ready to allow Roja to work on her own, keeping aside her rivals. He had reportedly told the Minister to build peace with the rivals and carry every leader and worker together to retain the seat in the next election.
It is to be seen how far Roja would clear the dissidents and win the confidence of Jagan Mohan Reddy to get the party ticket in the next election.
