The writers are doing a shoddy job but I don't think that's because of Ekta maata.
She didn't say to write a bad story. She had made it very clear that Prerna-anurag love each other, they get married to different people, pre falls in love with bajaj but still AnuPre will always have a soft corner for each other
This was the core plot which probably must have been conveyed to the writers.
But the writers are interested in retaining both the fandom and that's why they are doing this ping-pong.
The only person I am feeling bad for here is Parth the actor and Anurag the character. Parth is so talented and writers are trying to reduce him to a second lead.