HYDERABAD: The crisis in the Vizianagaram Congress over the party's nominee for the Zilla Parishad Chairperson post took a serious turn on Tuesday with both Ministers from the district — Botcha Satyanarayana and Satrucharla Vijayarama Raju — locking horns over the issue and threatening to resign if their choice was rejected.

The election has been caused by the resignation of Botcha Jhansi Lakshmi as ZP chief following her election as Congress MP from Bobbili defeating the TDP's nominee by a narrow margin. She is the wife of Mr. Satyanarayana.

While Mr. Satyanarayana threatened to step down in case his brother Botcha Appalanarsaiah was denied the post, Mr. Vijayarama Raju countered saying he would resign if the former's demand was conceded.

Objections

Mr. Satyanarayana, who has met Chief Minister Y. S.Rajasekhara Reddy twice since Monday, said: "Some persons are objecting to my family cornering three posts. In that case I offer to step down as my wife [Jhansi] cannot do so being an MP whereas the Zilla Parishad election is a local issue." He refused to disclose whether he had submitted resignation letter to the Chief Minister, saying "my word is as good as that".

However, Mr.Vijayarama Raju asked: "How can he bargain for the post by offering to step down? If that is the case, I can also quit along with a couple of MLAs." Dr. Reddy dismissed the threats as unwarranted and foresaw no hurdle in the conduct of the election. He is said to have clarified to Mr. Satyanarayana that the party high command was not in favour of a family holding three posts.

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