JOIN USWith its leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy in jail for nearly a year, the YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh appears to be in disarray because of factional fights in different districts.
There appears to be no line in the party command, and the factional feuds are said to be traced to two of Jagan's pointsmen in the party headquarters.
Jagan's mother and party honorary president Y S Vijaya has been occasionally holding talks with leaders from different districts but that has not resulted in any trouble-shooting, a member of the party's Central Governing Council said.
Beginning with Guntur, the YSRC units in West Godavari, East Godavari, Nizamabad, Chittoor, Warangal, Visakhapatnam and Nellore districts are reportedly facing trouble due to in-fighting among leaders.
Even in Jagan's native Kadapa district, the party is in chaos while the scene is no better in Vijayawada city.
The scene has turned so bad in some districts like Nellore and Warangal that the party offices were "sealed" by rival factions to not let others function.
Senior Congress leaders, who joined the Jagan camp and formed his core strength during YSRC's formation, are now distancing themselves away from the faction-ridden outfit. @Body:
Notable is the case of Anakapalle Congress MP Sabbam Hari. A strong supporter of Jagan from the beginning, he has for the past few days been staying away from YSRC.
Hari is said to be not on good terms with another leader from Anakapalle Konathala Ramakrishna, a former minister.
Konathala himself has been sulking as Jagan enrolled former TDP leader Dadi Veerabhadra Rao into the party. Dadi and Konathala are bitter political rivals in their hometown for decades.
All this is expected to cast a shadow on YSRC's functioning in Visakhapatnam district in coastal Andhra Pradesh.
In Warangal district in Telangana, the Konda couple, Murali and Surekha, who remained the party's identity in the region since inception, are said to be upset with the party leadership.
Surekha, who quit the state cabinet for joining YSRC, has been seething ever since her defeat in Parakal assembly by-election last year as she feels slighted by the party leadership.
Her husband Murali, who was disqualified as an MLC for siding with Jagan, too is upset that they were not being given importance in the party.
There are reports that the couple are seeking to return to Congress but neither Surekha nor Murali is ready to come on record on this now.
In Kakinada in East Godavari district, those appointed as convenors for Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies quit the party protesting "dictatorial leadership". The same is the story in Nizamabad district as well.
The entry of "defectors" from other parties is causing heartburn among the YSRC cadres in many districts. Those aspiring for tickets in the next elections are particularly unhappy with the entry of sitting MLAs from other parties.
The open fight recently between supporters of MLA M Rajesh, who defected from Congress, and the local YSRC groups in Chintalapudi in West Godavari district reflects this.
In Nellore district, all is not well between the group led by MP Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy and the others, so much so that the appointment of district party convenor has set off a fight between the rival groups.
In Chittoor, equations are not adding up between Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and other leaders like Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy and Ch Bhaskar Reddy.
The entry of TDP MLAs Praveen Kumar Reddy and Amarnath Reddy has resulted in an internal feud in YSRC in their constituencies in Chittoor district but things have not gone out of hand as yet.
Officially, YSRC is putting up a brave face. "Dissidence is natural in a party that is expected to come to power," YSRC spokesman Jupudi Prabhakar claims.
Party leaders in Hyderabad hope order will be restored once Jagan comes out of jail on bail.