Congress faces infighting over Jubilee Hills bypoll ticket for Naveen Yadav
HYDERABAD: The ruling Congress has taken the Jubilee Hills Assembly bypoll as a prestige battle, finalising the candidature of young leader V Naveen Yadav. However, internal rivalries between senior and newly inducted leaders have triggered unrest within the party.
Despite ministers launching extensive development and welfare tours over the past two months, their failure to bridge divisions between old and new cadres has created confusion at both leadership and grassroots levels. Analysts say Naveen Yadav’s ability to navigate these internal rifts will determine Congress’s prospects in the bypoll.
Rift widens between old and new cadres
Even though political activity has been heating up for months since the bypoll became inevitable, factionalism in the Congress has only deepened. Determined to retain the seat, the party deployed three ministers and 18 corporation chairpersons to oversee development and welfare programmes in the constituency.
Yet, old and new groups clashed in front of ministers during field visits, exposing serious infighting. Several hopefuls who want the party ticket were sidelined, and some reportedly avoided even greeting ministers during visits. The discord has persisted even after the ticket was finalised.
Among those disappointed are former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav, former mayor Bonthu Rammohan, corporator C N Reddy, and academic Bhavani Shankar. Political observers say their discontent could pose a major hurdle for the Congress campaign.
Senior leaders skip party events
The discontent became visible on Thursday when Anjan Kumar Yadav and C N Reddy skipped party programmes and stayed home, ignoring calls from senior leaders. They reportedly expressed strong resentment after their names were omitted from the candidate list.
All three aspirants — Naveen Yadav, Anjan Kumar Yadav, and C N Reddy — had lobbied hard for the ticket for two months, holding meetings and mobilising cadres. The All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) decision to nominate Naveen Yadav came as a shock to others.
Anjan Kumar Yadav, who has been with the party for over four decades, reportedly told close aides he felt “deeply hurt” by the decision. Minister Vivek Venkatswamy admitted that senior leaders were upset and said Minister Ponnam Prabhakar would visit their homes on Friday to pacify them. Anjan’s son and MP Anil Kumar said the dissatisfaction was “natural” but asserted they would abide by the party’s decision.
BJP, BRS set to intensify campaign
Meanwhile, BJP MP Dharmapuri Arvind suggested that political circles should field Bonthu Rammohan as the BJP candidate.. Rammohan dismissed the remark, clarifying he had not spoken to any BJP leader.
Congress candidate V Naveen Yadav met Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, and TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud on Thursday, thanking them for the opportunity.
With both Congress and BRS announcing their candidates — Naveen Yadav and Maganti Sunitha respectively — the Jubilee Hills bypoll atmosphere has heated up. BJP is expected to announce its nominee soon.
The nomination process begins on October 13, and major parties have already divided campaign responsibilities among local leaders. With just a month left for polling, the main contenders — Congress, BRS and BJP — are planning intense public outreach programmes. Congress leaders believe their stregnth in presence of Greater Hyderabad will give them an edge, though internal unity remains a challenge.