YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) student wing State secretary Hajji was injured in an attack with knives and other lethal weapons by six persons, alleged to be the followers of Nellore MLA Anil Kumar Yadav, here late on May 19 (Friday).
On a complaint from Mr. Hajji, who was admitted to the Government General Hospital with bleeding injuries on the head by the local residents, the police registered a case of attempt to murder and began probe.
The incident brought to the fore groupism in the ruling party, which had already been gripped by dissidence with three of its MLAs raising a banner of revolt in the undivided Nellore district, where the ruling party bagged all the 10 Assembly seats in 2019.
Mr. Hajji alleged that Mr. Anil Kumar Yadav’s followers were behind the attack on him as he kept a distance from the former Irrigation Minister following differences of late.
Nellore Deputy Mayor Roopkumar Yadav backed the allegation, while addressing the media after calling on Mr. Hajji at the hospital on May 20 (Saturday).
He demanded that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy intervene and act against those responsible for the “wrongdoings.”
“The party leaders, including the corporators who sided with me, are being targeted by the MLA,” he charged.
The Chief Minister, during his recent visit to the district, had unsuccessfully tried for rapprochement between the two party leaders, as the conflict was likely to have a bearing on the party’s prospects in the next Assembly elections here.
MLA reacts
Meanwhile, denying that he was behind the attack on Mr. Hajji, Mr. Anil Kumar Yadav told the media that those against him were resorting to mudslinging and putting the blame on him for their troubles. “I will not keep quiet if my patience is tested further,” he warned.
