Senior YSRCP leader and former minister Dharmana Prasada Rao is fast turning out to be a tormentor and a dissident for the party. His off-the-cuff, no-holds-barred comments are making the party leaders look sideways to hide embarrassment. Of late, he is criticising various aspects of the governance through his incisive comments.

In one such recent meeting, Dharmana said that after the YSRCP came to power, the cadre is disenchanted and has lost the initiative. He said this in the presence of all major leaders and ministers from North Andhra. While many cadres supported him, the leaders felt quite embarrassed. His frank admission became a major subject of discussion.

Similarly, he strongly opposed the proposal to turn each Lok Sabha constituency into a district. He said this will cause immense harm to Srikakulam, he said. Senior leaders like Dharmana Krishna Das, Tammineni Sitaram and others had to agree to this. His comments ran counter to YS Jagan’s proposal. But, given Dharmana’s stature, no one dared comment against him. But, this caused a huge debate in North Andhra politics, especially within the YSRCP.

Increasingly, he is appearing to act as an opposition within the party. Recently, he commented against the nominated posts to the marketing committees. He questioned the rationale behind forming the committees without appointing full-time directors. His comments sparked off an intense debate on the issue. Though the party leaders close to him argue that Dharmana has always been outspoken, but many leaders are finding his comments unpalatable.