
Cracks are developing in the TRS monolith after the debacle it has suffered in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Even as a new outfit – Telangana Vimochana Samiti (TVS) – spearheaded by TRS MLC from Warangal K Dileep Kumar is taking birth as an alternative force, newly-elected Medak MP and TRS secretary general Vijayashanthi is reportedly contemplating bidding goodbye to the party. According to sources, Vijayashanthi is planning to quit the party since she believes there is no future for the TRS and it is time she looked for greener pastures. There is, however, no official confirmation about her quitting.
Meanwhile, Dileep Kumar is going ahead with his new outfit. He reportedly decided to have his own organisation after a heated exchange with TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao over the decisions taken by the latter in the run up to the polls that brought disastrous results for the party. Though Kumar claims the TVS is an apolitical organisation, its genesis and contours suggest it might emerge as an alternative to the TRS.
Speaking in this regard, Kumar says a political initiative for securing statehood to Telangana has to be backed by a mass movement and the TVS fits the bill in this respect.
That the TVS has seriously got down to the business is evident from the fact that former TRS MP Ravindra Nayak has already declared his support for the outfit apart from some leaders from other parties and intellectuals of the region. The TVS leaders are also in touch with TRS thinktank Prof Jayashankar, Kodandaram and Gadar. Kumar is planning to have a meeting with likeminded persons here tomorrow.
Meanwhile, raising his voice against the `unilateral’ decisions of TRS chief Chandrasekhara Rao, especially in allotment of tickets, that allegedly led to the poor performance of the party in the polls, Ravindra Naik said, “If the TRS chief does not change his attitude, the party will fold up very soon.” “Today, the TRS is KCR’s family party,” he further said indicating a growing resentment in the party over the manner in which the party chief is functioning.