Is the YSRCP frittering away its gains in the all-important Kuppam constituency? Has groupism begun to eat into the vitals of the party? Internal bickering, it appears, is all set to hand back the Kuppam assembly constituency back to the TDP, whose citadel Kuppam was till recently.
Internal sources say three strong groups have emerged in the Kuppam YSRCP and all the three are trying to undercut one another. As a result, the YSRCP cadre is left confused and the party is getting weaker. With a foxy Chandrababu focusing on the constituency through his regular visits and outreaches, the TDP appears to be clawing its way back.
Chandrababu’s strongest citadel of Kuppam began slipping out of TDP grip since the 2019 elections. In the first two rounds of the 2019 elections, Chandrababu trailed behind the YSRCP candidate. This was a huge shock for the TDP. Though Chandrababu went on to win, albeit by a lower margin, the TDP could not recover. In the Panchayat elections, the YSRCP won 74 of the 89 panchayats, leaving just 14 to the TDP. In the municipal elections again, YSRCP has won 19 of the 25 wards. The YSRCP has rewarded key local leaders with plum posts.
But, that’s where the problems started for the YSRCP. Bharat, who was made an MLC, Senthil Kumar, who was made Resco chairperson and municipal chairperson Sudheer are now fighting among themselves. The three leaders are levelling allegations against each other and are exposing the financial dealings of one another. Despite Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy’s efforts, the group infighting is only growing. As a result, they are fast losing support among the people. This, according to political analysts, is giving an opportunity for the TDP to make a comeback in its former citadel of Kuppam.