Actress-turned-firebrand YSR Congress party MLA from Nagari assembly constituency R K Roja is facing the threat of internal betrayal within the party and if the reports from Tadepalli are to be believed, she is unlikely to get the ticket this time.
Though Roja is pulling out all the stops to get the party ticket again due to her more-loyal-than-king attitude, she is afraid that a section of party seniors have been sabotaging her chances by spreading a negative propaganda against her and promoting groupism within the constituency.
The latest allegations of bribery against Roja are believed to be part of the YSRCP groups in Nagari constituency against her.
A Dalit municipal corporator from Puttur municipality Bhuvaneshwari accused the minister of demanding from her a bribe of Rs 70 lakh for making her the chairperson of the Puttur civic body.
The corporator claimed that Roja’s brother Kumara Swamy Reddy has already taken Rs 40 lakh from her in three instalments.
But she did not get the post. She alleged that Kumara Swamy started harassing her when she wanted the money to be returned.
Bhuvaneshwari claimed that when she contacted Roja, the latter told her that she would return the money two and a half years later. This deadline passed in September 2022.
“When I asked Roja about the money she directed me to contact her brother for the money. But he has refused. His followers are now harassing me,” Bhuvaneswari charged.
In a recent Zilla Parishad meeting in Chittoor, Nagari, Vadamalapet, Nindra and Puttur ZPTC members also accused the minister of blocking funds for implementing development works in their territorial constituencies.
Vadamalapet ZPTC Muralidhar Reddy declared that he helped Roja secure a majority in the 2014 and 2019 assembly elections. But she has neither rewarded him nor is she sanctioning funds for constructing rooms in the mandal parishad office.
Roja believes that two senior ministers from Rayalaseema were behind these allegations and were conspiring against her so that Jagan would deny her the party ticket.
She is alleging that a senior minister was going all out to tarnish her image and sabotage her chances of getting the ticket again.
