Late YSR told party men not to trouble the party, recalls Bhatti Vikramarka

Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka reflects on late YSR's advice amid Congress party infighting, emphasizing loyalty and public service.

Amid the frequent open infighting within the Congress party, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has recalled the advice given by late Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy not to trouble the party.

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy, a towering personality in the Congress from the 80s till his death in 2009, was known as a rebel of a sort not hesitating to take on the mighty within the party in undivided Andhra Pradesh. But, his unsuccessful race to lead the party to power in 1999 and finally succeeding in 2004 taught him a lot of lessons, his party colleagues recall.

Mr. Bhatti, a close camp follower of the former Chief Minister from the day he was hand-picked by late YSR to become an MLC in 2007 has never looked back while climbing the political ladder.

In an interview to The Hindu at the imposing Jyothirao Phule Praja Bhavan, which was the official residence of the previous CM K. Chandrashekhar Rao, Mr. Bhatti went down memory lane recalling his association with the late YSR. It was late Rajasekhara Reddy, who ensured that the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh had an official residence and constructed one close to the Praja Bhavan (earlier Pragati Bhavan).

“We used to frequent the official camp office of late YSR. One thing, he always used to tell us never to trouble the party. I had committed minor mistakes and it took me 25 years to overcome those errors,” Mr Bhatti recalled Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy telling a training programme of Congress MLAs in MCRHRD Institute during his first stint as the CM.

The Deputy CM, whose maiden stint was as an MLC in 2005 saw him getting into the good books of YSR saw to him becoming the Chief Whip. There was no looking back after winning the 2009 Assembly elections from Madhira in Khammam district, rising to become the Chief Whip and then Deputy Speaker of the AP Legislative Assembly.

After bifurcation, Mr. Bhatti won the 2014 election to become the Leader of the Opposition in 2018-19, Congress Legislature Party leader and to assume charge as the fourth Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana in 2023.