TDP cadre unenthused about Janmabhoomi?

Tirupati: The rank and file of the ruling Telugu Desam Party seem to be reluctant to participate in the government-sponsored Janmabhoomi programme that begins on January 2 in Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s native district of Chittoor.

The request of Minister for Forests and Environment Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy for exemption of the VVIP district from the programme reflects the mood of the party cadre in the district.

He made this request at a meeting of the party coordination committee in Vijayawada on Saturday.

However, the Chief Minister has reportedly turned down the request and stated categorically that the programme should be made a resounding success.

Gopalakrishna Reddy is on the four-member Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted by the government to oversee the arrangements for the Indian Science Congress (ISC) slated to begin ON January 3.

Even as the Minister cited ISC as the reason for deferment of the programme, the reasons are said to be different.

Inertia has reportedly gripped the party owing to the widening gulf between the party and the official machinery, and this coupled with internal feuds and the fear of facing the people post- demonetisation, have acted as a dampener to the spirit of the cadre.

The Minister himself is forced to play second-fiddle to the district collector, lament his followers.

There have apparently been numerous instances where the Minister had proposed something and the official top-brass had vetoed it, thanks to the alleged preferential treatment enjoyed by officials under the TDP government's dispensation. Infighting in the party isn’t helping things either.

This was very much in evidence when the district party leadership failed to put up a united fight against YSRC leader Bhumana Karunakar Reddy for his recent attack on the alleged TDP government’s failures in implementing welfare programmes in the district.

When former MLA Chadalavada Krishnamurthy held a programme to counter Bhumana’s tirade, local MLA M Suguna stayed away, bringing to the fore the lack of unit in the party’s Tirupati unit.

Similarly, the party became a divided house in Chittoor, the district headquarters town, over the allotment of mayor post. Demonetisation and the subsequent cash crunch hit the welfare schemes hard in the district.

A slew of old-age pensioners failed to receive solatium from the government in December.

Sanction of new ration cards and house titles for the poor had also got delayed which may further antagonize the people during the Janmabhoomi programme.

The Janmabhoomi programme is scheduled in Tirupati, Chittoor, Srikalahasti, Puttoor, Nagari, Palmaner, Madanapalle and Pungunur towns and rural areas of the 14 Assembly constituencies of the district.