Chiru in damage control mode

Praja Rajyam president K. Chiranjeevi on Sunday got down to the business of damage control, after several leaders and aspirants quit the party protesting against lack of transparency in the party.

He spread the word that those who had given their best for the party would be rewarded by accommodating them in the Legislative Council once the party got the majority in the elections and also with nominated posts in corporations.

Admitting that people like C. Anjaneya Reddy, vice-president, who sent a resignation letter were ‘indispensable’. He said senior representatives of the party had already contacted Mr. Reddy on Sunday morning. “I will meet him personally this evening and convince him of the need to stay back in the party,” he said.

His brother K. Nagendra Babu made an unsuccessful bid to persuade Mr. Reddy to take back the resignation letter. Later in the evening, the former police officer had a two hour-long meeting with Mr. Chiranjeevi at the latter’s residence.

He did not talk to the waiting media but earlier clarified that he would put out a release to the media, with details of why he wished to quit.

‘Coverts’

On ‘coverts’ in the party, Mr. Chiranjeevi said zeroing in on them was a tricky business. It may be recalled that general secretary Allu Aravind admitted recently that two coverts were identified and would soon be unveiled.

Mr. Chiranjeevi said, “We have to be absolutely sure before making public the names. Anyway, they will soon leave on their own, when they find that we know their identity and when they are not given any party positions,” he said.

TDP mulls re-introduction of NTR Jr. ‘electronically’

The Telugu Desam Party is mulling re-introduction among masses of injured film star NTR Jr. from his hospital bed electronically.

The party is planning to take the speeches of NTR Jr. to people either through video linkage or CDs.

The latter was proposed in the form of an interview of the star, former Rajya Sabha member of TDP K. Ramamohan Rao told The Hindu.

Naidu to take call

He said a final view on how to utilise the services of NTR Jr. using electronic media would be taken by TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday or Tuesday after the doctor, who is treating the star, returns from Germany. Moreover, a scan of the spinal injuries suffered by NTR Jr. is also scheduled on Monday.

NTR Junior is advised complete rest of four to five weeks so that the pain in the spine does not recur.

Though he would be able to strain his body before that period as age was on his side, doctors felt it might tell on his health in the long run.

Mr. Rao added that the film career of the star was more important than the campaign for TDP immediately.

The star was, however, disappointed that he could not resume the campaign though he was able to speak and consume food normally. He would also be able to walk in a couple of days.

TDP demands apology from Rosaiah

The Telugu Desam Party has demanded Finance Minister K. Rosaiah’s apology to people for his reported remarks on Saturday that election officials should work in favour of the government, thus “belittling” the Constitution.

At a press conference here on Sunday, TDP leaders Ummareddy Venkateswarulu and P.L. Srinivas said Mr. Rosaiah’s comments made when he met Chief Electoral Officer I.V. Subba Rao and Deputy CEO Harpreet Singh, were “undemocratic”. They showed the ‘intolerant’ attitude of the Congress.

The leaders sought to remind the Minister that poll officials come under the direct purview of the Election Commission, the day election schedule was announced and the model code of conduct came into force.

Demanding Mr. Rosaiah to withdraw the remarks, they said the party would take the issue to the Chief Election Commissioner’s notice.

On the Congress leaders’ query as to how the TDP would mobilise funds to fulfil its promises, they said the State’s income had increased to Rs.80,000 crore. This was expected to grow by 15 per cent annually.

In addition, the State would get its share from Central taxes. The TDP would meet the expenditure without selling government lands, they observed.

Replying to a question, they said the TDP, while implementing the promises, would continue reforms, if returned to power.

BJP hopes to cash in on IT sop in its manifesto

Expects middle-class to be swayed by IT limit enhancement


The promise of tax exemption for the middle-class families with earnings of Rs. 3 lakh and for women up to Rs. 3.5 lakh, announced in the BJP manifesto, seems to have galvanised the city unit of the party.

For, the party officials believe that they have a potent weapon to draw out the middle and upper middle-class votes on the election day.

To drive home this message, the party’s Sanathnagar candidate B. Shyam Sundar Goud, along with State BJP president Bandaru Dattatreya on Sunday campaigned for half a day in the exclusive middle and upper and middle-class pockets of Ameerpet.

Making full use of the holiday, BJP workers took out a procession, in the colonies along Dharam Karan Road and Begumpet Railway station and tried their best to reach to as many voters as possible. Mr. Dattatreya and Mr. Goud stood on a modified multi utility vehicle with arms folded to greet and ask for the support from residents.

Special songs exclusively composed to highlight the salient features of BJP manifesto including promises on income tax exemption and Rs. 2 per kilo per rice blared out from the huge sound systems. “We firmly believe that the income tax exemption will strike a chord with the public,” said Mr. Goud.

Mr. Dattatreya exuded confidence of his party’s performance in Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in a chat with presspersons and also made it clear that the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat is a race between BJP and Congress.

“We are getting good response in Secunderabad. The Praja Rajyam party is yet to get it act together in Secunderabad. I am confident of a good result from Secunderabad,” he said adding that the pro-poor agenda of BJP will help the party in winning votes.

‘KCR deceiving Telangana people’

Praja Rajyam and Mana Party alliance candidate for Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha constituency Balagouni Balraj Goud predicted that his rival and TRS chief K.Chandrashekar Rao would meet same fate as that of late chief minister N.T.Rama Rao.

Speaking to media persons here on Sunday Balraj Goud said that Mahabubnagar district has the history of defeating the party chiefs. “TDP chief N.T.Rama Rao was defeated in Kalwakurthy Assembly in 1989 elections”. This time it is the turn of K.Chandrashekar Rao.

He said while the Congress candidate D.Vittal Rao was no match to him, he would win by one lakh majority over KCR.

He said KCR was hoodwinking the people of Telangana since eight years by announcing deadlines to Telangana State. He even announced dates with regard to the formation of Telangana State. This time he announced Telangana would be created after elections, he said. He said that people are looking towards PR rule.

Most BJP candidates are first-timers

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded candidates in all the three Parliamentary and 18 out of 19 Assembly constituencies. Most of them are first-timers hoping to revive the fortunes of their party which has rarely swayed electorate in this district.

The BJP candidates who filed nominations for the Lok Sabha seats are: Kakinada -- Bikkina Visveswara Rao, Amalapuram (SC) – K. Uma Maheswara Rao and Rajahmundry -- Somu Veerraju.

The BJP candidates, who filed nominations for Assembly constituencies are: Tuni – K. Srinivas, Jaggampeta – V.V. Suryanarayana Raju and P. Suryanarayana Murthy, Peddapuram -- Y.V. Ram Kumar, Pithapuram – B.V.V. Muralidhar Rao, Prathipadu -- Thota Venkataramana.

Kakinada City -- N.V. Saibaba, Kakinada Rural – G. Kalyan Kumar, Razole (SC) – B. Satyanarayana Murthy, Gannavaram (SC) – P. Surya Rao, Anaparthy – N. Jyothi Reddy, Ramachandrapuram – K. Chittibabu, Mummidivaram – V.V.S.N. Narayana Raju.

Kothapeta – T. Ramakrishna Reddy and S.S. Ramachandra Rao, Mandapeta – N. Rambabu, Rajanagaram – M.V.V. Satyanarayana, Rajahmundry City – S. Chakra Bhaskar Rao and S. Himabindu, Rajahmundry Rural – D.N.R. Prasad.

The final list of candidates will be known after April 8 which is the last date for withdrawal of nominations. Scrutiny is being done on April 6.

Chiranjeevi rules out support for Congress, TDP

“Praja Rajyam will get the majority required”

“Our alliance will be the fourth front”

Praja Rajyam (PR) president K. Chiranjeevi has ruled out the possibility of supporting either the Congress or the Telugu Desam Party after the elections, saying he does not see any scope for doubts about his party’s performance.

Replying to queries at a ‘Meet-The-Press’ programme organised by the Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists here on Sunday, he averred that his party would cross the ‘magic figure’ (half-way mark of 147 Assembly seats) and get the majority required for forming the government in the State.

“There is no confusion in the minds of the people. If there is any confusion, it is in the Opposition parties,” he said.

The PR would also not support the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance at the national level. “I have a gut feeling about the emergence of a fourth front and that will be our alliance,” he said.

‘Smear campaign’

Denying allegations that the PR leadership had collected huge amounts of money from aspirants to allot party ticket, Mr. Chiranjeevi blamed the Opposition parties for successfully running a smear campaign against his party.

YSR makes light of TDP’s poll promises

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy appealed to the people to cast their vote after comparing the five year rule of his government with the nine year rule of the Telugu Desam.

Addressing election meetings at Makthal, Wanaparthy and Kalwakurthy Assembly segments in the district on Saturday, the Chief Minister dismissed the poll promises being made by Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu saying that “all free” promises cannot be trusted. He reminded that Chandrababu Naidu failed to waive loans and electricity arrears during his rule when there was drought for years and farmers were in distress.

Referring to the statement of Mr. Naidu before 2004 elections that the electricity wires would be only useful for drying clothes if free power to agriculture sector is provided, he ridiculed Mr. Naidu’s promise to provide free power for 12 hours per day.

Hero worship no help

Hero worship for their leaders sometimes is not enough to get them party ticket. A case in point is former Congress MLA from Miryalaguda Repala Srinivas, a die hard supporter of Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. He was even instrumental in bringing the huge drum for the launch of party’s election campaign by Dr. Reddy recently and speculation was rife that Mr. Srinivas would walk away with the Miryalaguda ticket which was not to be. Mr. Srinivas, who had sacrificed the same seat in 2004 for Left parties, missed the bus yet again.

PRP leader duped?

The city police took a 24-year old person into custody on the charges of duping a leader of the Praja Rajyam Party here on Saturday.

According to Governorpet police, Dasari Bala Prakash, a resident of Kunderu near Kankipadu, called on Chalamalasetti Ramesh Babu of Hanuman Junction claiming that he was closely associated with family members of PRP president Chiranjeevi. Bala Prakash reportedly told Ramesh Babu that he knew Chiranjeevi’s sister-in-law (wife of Nagendra Babu, younger brother of Chiranjeevi).

The accused convinced Ramesh Babu that Nagendra Babu’s wife would be able to persuade the PRP leadership to field him (Ramesh Babu) in elections. To substantiate his claim, he arranged a con woman to talk as Nagenedra Babu’s wife over phone with Rameh Babu. Later, he demanded Rs. 2 lakh for doing the favour. Following which, Ramesh Babu and Bala Prakash met in a private hotel here to discuss the matter.

Later, Ramesh Babu lodged a complaint with the police that Bala Prakash tried to cheat him. However, Bala Prakash did not accept the allegations levelled against him.

The police were inquiring into the incident.

Of polls and reverse sweeps

Elections are keenly followed for the element of surprise they hold -- first in the selection of candidates and later, when the results are announced. Each election produces its share of giant killers. Virtually unknown candidates sometime dethrone the sitting representatives. Sometimes stalwarts are defeated much against popular perception.

Visakhapatnam had such experience way back in 1977 when freedom fighter Tenneti Viswanadham was defeated by Congress’ Dronamraju Satyanarayana. Nobody expected the veteran to lose.

Fortunes fickle

Electoral fortunes are so fickle that a winner in one election is not sure of continuing his winning streak. Bhattam Srirama Murthy recorded a major victory from Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency in 1984 when TDP was fighting the election with a groundswell of support that followed the dethroning of NTR. He polled 3,34,398 votes against Congress’ K. Appala Swamy’s 1,93,968. His victory margin of 1,40,430 has not been beaten since then. Former Chief Minister N. Janardhan Reddy came close to it when he won with 1,30,571 against M.V.V.S. Murthy of the TDP. But when TDP fielded Mr. Srirama Murthy from Visakhapatnam One it would hardly have expected him to receive a drubbing. A little known Eti Vijayalakshmi handed him a drubbing polling 39,387 votes against Mr. Srirama Murthy’s 25,049.

Campaigns and pre-election moods also create some impressions that are belied when the ballots are counted. In the 1999 election, Congress nominee T. Subbarami Reddy was hugely perceived to be on a strong wicket. He had won two successive elections from Visakhapatnam LS constituency in 1996 and 1998, something nobody did before. Rooting for a hat-trick, he was again in the fray running a high profile campaign roping in a galaxy of film stars. But when the ballots were opened, TDP’s M.V.V.S. Murthy made a come back after eight years winning by 40,000 votes.

PR workers on the rampage

Announcement of second list of party candidates by Praja Rajyam on Saturday night triggered widespread protests across the State with disgruntled cadres attacking party offices and ransacking furniture.

Irate PR activists in Warangal set the party office ablaze. Scores of supporters of an aspirant Sampath Kumar rushed to the party office near Kakatiya Medical College, broke it open, brought the furniture outside and set it afire. Fire services personnel extinguished the fire later. Several aspirants were a dejected lot as they failed to find their names in the list announced this evening. A report from Anantapur said supporters of A. Surendrababu, an aspirant for Anantapur Urban Assembly constituency attacked the party office after the ticket was allotted to T. J. Prakash. In Khammam district, similar scenes were witnessed when followers of M. Srisailam, a strong aspirant for the Khammam Assembly ticket ransacked the office. Similar protests were reported from Nizamabad and Adilabad districts.

Weaker sections favoured in PR listpp

The Praja Rajyam’s second list of 60 Assembly and 12 Lok Sabha candidates has given a sizeable representation to the weaker sections as it did in the first list.

Of the nominees for Assembly, there are 21 candidates belonging to the backward classes, 12 SCs and 11 ST, two from the minorities and seven are women.

The list of 12 contestants for Parliament has one woman, Paduri Karuna (OC) from Nalgonda Lok Sabha seat, three each of BCs, SCs and three minorities. Among the politically experienced of the lot in the race to Parliament are former MP Bhuma Nagi Reddy (Allagadda) and former Minister S.A. Khaleel Basha.

Dr. P. Vinay Kumar (Nizamabad), a gastroenterologist and son of former Union Minister P. Shivshankar, Dasoju Sravan Kumar (Secunderabad), who is the general secretary of Yuva Rajyam and was formerly with the Administrative Staff College of India, G.S. Mansoor (Anantapur), who runs Asad Farms and other businesses and Thota Chandrasekhar (Guntur), an ex-IAS officer find a place in the list.

Frank Talk

Support value-based politics’

All political parties are depending on ‘note bank’ to buy ‘vote bank’. Politics should not be a business to invest money before elections and make money after coming to power. Let us all render our heartfelt support to a clean and value-based political party like Lok Satta Party.

Praveen Bandari

‘Rate leaders on their performances’

We should have a score card for elected representatives with their promises given to people. Every three months, they should present a balance sheet explaining their performance. They should declare their assets and liabilities openly at the end of financial year, just as companies declare their assets in AGMs. Let people rate them on their performances.

S.A. Srinivasa Sarma,

Ameerpet

‘Don’t give in to threats’

These days, a majority of politicians who could not get tickets from their respective parties are bent upon taking to protests and threats to contest against their party nominee. Chance should not be given to such politicians.

Kamal Sani,

Rajiv Nagar

Both the candidates are top performers in their own right. One has touched dizzy heights as an actor and the other is well known for his ‘presence’ in

Jayasudha, Talasani file nominations in contrasting styles

Both the candidates are top performers in their own right. One has touched dizzy heights as an actor and the other is well known for his ‘presence’ in Secunderabad Assembly constituency. On Saturday, both filed their nominations, albeit in contrasting styles. The former chose a simple approach while the latter decided to show strength and reach.

Sans the fanfare and pomp, actor Jayasudha filed her nominations from Secunderabad on Saturday while sitting MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav led a huge procession that reached the office of the Returning Officer at Secunderabad GHMC office, after navigating through the streets of Secunderabad for over four hours.

Accompanied with a few local leaders, Jayasudha visited Marredpally Ganesh temple, a Dargah at Goods Shed and St. Mary’s Church later to seek blessings. A smattering of her admirers, mostly the staff of the church, temple and mosque, wished her good luck.

“We wanted to keep it simple. My style will be to take up door-to-door campaigning and reach out to everyone,” the actor said with self-assurance.

Quite contrastingly, the huge procession of Mr. Yadav was a traffic-stopper. Party workers from various divisions of Secunderabad stood with flags and garlands on makeshift platforms to welcome his procession. Women workers were attired in yellow and hurled flowers on the procession.

A confetti machine, blasting out yellow paper, led the procession followed by drummers and the ubiquitous sound system blaring out TDP songs.

Chiranjeevi sees a silent revolution

Reiterating the need to end two-party rule in Andhra Pradesh, Praja Rajyam president K. Chiranjeevi said on Saturday that his party was borne out of the people’s desire for a change in the political establishment and it was up to them to choose between PRP and the other major parties. Much-needed fillip

The PRP has immeasurable love of people and it was therefore confident of its victory in the coming elections. The allotment of a common symbol by Election Commission gave the much-needed fillip to the PRP at the right time, he asserted.

Speaking at a roadshow at Sarpavaram Junction here, he said both the Congress and the TDP governments were inefficient and the people’s living conditions deteriorated as a consequence.

“It is imperative that the two main parties should be taught a lesson lest the people’s sufferings should increase.” The plight of working class was the worst as successive governments implemented policies which aggravated the problems. The Kakinada Special Economic Zone and coastal industrial corridor resulted in large-scale displacement of farmers and fishermen.

Converting fertile lands for industrial development created ecological imbalances, he alleged.

‘Silent revolution’

Mr. Chiranjeevi said the Congress and the TDP, which belittled the PRP as an insignificant entity, should see for themselves the spontaneous support it was getting from the masses and come to a conclusion whether it was just a fluke or a silent revolution bound to catapult PRP to power. He later proceeded to Tallarevu, Draksharamam, Ramachandrapuram, Mandapeta, Anaparthi and Rajanagaram.

Party above self: Chiru

SEZ Act will be amended to undo injustice: PRP chief

State-level body to explore gas reserves, he says

The Praja Rajyam party (PRP) has resolved to allocate not less than 100 seats for the Backward Classes and give priority for women’s representation in the Legislative Council.

A good number of women are being fielded in the coming elections to the Assembly but the party is not promising them 33 per cent quota right now, says party president K. Chiranjeevi.

Addressing a press conference at Valasapakala here on Saturday before resuming his Praja Ankita Yatra in East Godavari district, Mr. Chiranjeevi said the PRP’s commitment to social justice was evident from the first list of candidates announced by it on Friday, wherein a majority of the 100 nominees belonged to the weaker sections.

Malicious propaganda

Those staging protests were doing so because they could not secure nominations for themselves and their selfish actions created the perception that PRP’s talk of social justice was mere rhetoric. The PRP was also wrongly accused of selling ticket to rich people due to malicious propaganda carried out by coverts.

Mr. Chiranjeevi observed that those genuinely concerned about the party would keep extending their selfless services, irrespective of personal setbacks, and the PRP would certainly reward such sincere workers. The PRP was examining the possibility of nominating fans at two or three places, and by fans it did not mean only the registered ones.

Mr. Chiranjeevi said the PRP would not hesitate to make amends to the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Act to undo the injustice meted to farmers, fishermen and other marginalised sections in the guise of development. He regretted that the SEZs resulted in massive displacement, particularly of farmers whose sole source of livelihood was their agricultural lands.

Mr. Chiranjeevi stated that his party would strive to corner the due share of Andhra Pradesh in gas reserves discovered by the Reliance Industries Limited and that AP State gas corporation would be set up to undertake natural gas exploration and production. These projects would help in mitigating the power shortage that was common during the Congress and the TDP regimes.

Water problem on Chiru’s home turf

Brawls at public taps are not uncommon; some dig pits and draw salty water

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Aquaculture boom leaves water sources polluted

Safe drinking water out of reach for 25-30 habitation

The struggle for a pail of water waged by Andraju Kumari from this sea-side fishermen’s habitation, a stone’s throw away from Praja Rajyam (PR) president K. Chiranjeevi’s ancestral village of Mogalturu, is unlikely to be an election issue for any of the major political parties.

“If I spend a couple of hours at the public tap, I get only two pots of water with which our six-member family is forced to manage for two days,” a peeved Kumari said.

All her family members eke out a living by working on farms or fishing in the sea. “Waiting at the tap means that one of us has to forego the day’s earnings,” she rues. The otherwise sleepy village of around 400-odd families wakes up to brawls at public taps.

As the precious liquid starts trickling down from the tap, the entire village turns hyperactive with people, irrespective of age and gender, running towards the taps with the containers.

If the water is not adequate, there are ‘water wars’ between the inhabitants, especially if those in the upper reaches break the pipeline.

As water is supplied on alternate days, the inhabitants dig pits and draw salty water.

The dwindling water levels in the Godavari are impacting the levels in the summer storage tank at Metrevu from where drinking water is drawn for Mollaparru and five other surrounding villages.

Saline water

The boom in aquaculture has left all the drinking water sources polluted, while the sea has made the groundwater saline.

This is not an isolated case limited to this village alone. Safe drinking water is out of reach of almost all the 25-30 habitations on the 19-km coastline falling under Narsapur and Mogaltur mandals during every summer.

The discussions at the ‘rachcha bandas’ (public platforms) in the villages, which currently centre around the defection of their MLA from the Telugu Desam Party to the Praja Rajyam, his electoral prospects and caste equations in politics, do not, however, focus on this perennial problem.

Advantage PRP in Mangalagiri

CPI(M) hopeful of winning Sattenapalle with TDP’s support

PRP considering names of Sankroti Rama Rao, Jankai

Even before the race for Mangalagiri Assembly Constituency begins, for which nominations are being accepted from Saturday, the fight between Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) hotted up confusing all the political parties and voters. All this points to an advantage to Praja Rajyam Party.

While CPI was able to bag the seat in a deal struck at the stroke of Midnight with its Grand Alliance Big Brother Telugu Desam Party, the CPI-M does not want to lose its claim for the seat and does not want to settle for the Sattenapalle constituency. The CPI has already issued the ‘B’ Form to its nominee Mupalla Nageswara Rao, party Guntur district secretary and arrived at Guntur on Saturday night.

The CPI does not have another option as the only alternative it has, -- Vinukonda -- has been taken by the TDP by announcing the name of G.V. Anjaneyulu as its candidate. The CPI(M), which has some considerable cadre in Sattenapalle can win the seat with the support of the TDP, the CPI leaders feel. The CPI(M) district secretary D. Rama Devi, who is the likely candidate if it were given to them told reporters on Saturday that they would not give up their claim and might even decide to have a friendly contest if need be.

Party Central leaders, meeting in Hyderabad, would however give the final decision on Sunday and meanwhile, the party activists here are angry with TDP president Nara Chandrababu Naidu for taking a unilateral decision without inviting the CPI-M leaders. With CPI-M and CPI engaged in a `friendly fight’ it will be the PRP taking the advantage as majority of Congress cadre also have migrated to the new party.

The four-time CPI Candidate D. Srikrishna from Mangalagiri had won twice. “Mr. Srinivas was in the opposition after winning in 1972 and lost in 1978 and after 30 years (6 general elections later) the CPI cadre will be in a position to vote on its party symbol,” party nominee told The Hindu in a euphoric voice. The party on its own, however, has some support base only in Pedavadlapudi, Chinakakani and Nutakki. The CPI-M also has very meager party base with together able to cobble-up a little over 20,000 voters.

Praja Rajyam Party is considering the name of Sankroti Rama Rao, party district convener or Janaki, daughter of former Chirala MPP .

Praja Rajyam releases the second list of its candidates

Following is the second list of candidates released by Praja Rajyam on Saturday: Lok Sabha

Peddapalli: Arepalli David Raju

Nizamabad: Punjala Vinaykumar

Secunderabad: Dasoju Sravan Kumar

Nagarkurnool: D. Satish Madiga; Nalgonda: Paduri Karuna; Bhongir: Geddam Chandramouli Goud

Guntur: Thota Chandrasekhar

Narsaraopet: Syed Saheb

Nandyal: Bhuma Nagireddy

Anantapur: G.S.Mansur

Kadapa: S.A. Khaleel Basha

Tirupati: Velagapalli Varaprasada Rao

Assembly

Hyderabad:

Musheerabad: P.V. Ashok; Khairatabad: Navvada Vijayendra; Goshamahal: Madhavi Deepak; Yakutpura: Sheera Rajkumar; Bahadurpura: Syed Younis Deshmukh; Secunderabad: Mekala Sarangapani.

Mahabubnagar:

Narayanpet: Dr. Saibaba; Wanaparthy: Dr. Bhupesh Mudiraj; Gadwal: Gattu Bhimudu; Alampur : Surava Shobarani; Nagarkurnool: Sheik Noorjahan; Kalwakurthy: J. Chittaranjan Das.

Medak: Siddipet: B. Narasimha Chary; Narayankhed: M. Vijaypal Reddy; Narsapur: Kailash Ramchandragupta; Zaheerabad: D. Vasant Kumar.

Warangal:

Jangaon: Jalli Siddaiah; Station Ghanpur: Aruri Ramesh; Palakurthy: N. Praveen Rao; Dornakal : Sujata Mangilal; Mahbubabad: Dr. Nehru Naik; Narsampet: Gonela Ravinder; Parakal: Manda Ilaiah; Warangal (West): M. Ravinder Reddy; Warangal (East): Errabelli Pradip Rao; Wardhannapet: J. Zakaria ; Mulug : Jayaram Naik.

Khammam:

Pinapaka: Janakiram Tejawat; Yellandu : B. Sankar Naik; Khammam: E. Haribabu; Palair: R. Nageswara Rao ; Madhira : S. Vijayavani; Sattupalli: N. Ravi; Aswaraopet : Tati Nagendra Rao.

Nalgonda: Miryalaguda: A. Amarender Reddy; Bhongir: P. Shivaraj Goud.

Nellore:

Gudur: Manapati Ravindra; Sullurpet : Garika Eshwaramma; Kavali: Ramreddy Pratap Reddy; Udayagiri: Sunkara Anjanadri.

East Godavari:

Rampachodavaram : Seethamsetti Venkateswara Rao.

Ranga Reddy: Medchal: T. Jangaiah Yadav; Serilingampalli: Bandi Ramesh; Chevella: Dr. Balu Savla.

Nizamabad: Armoor: Dr. B. Madhusekhar; Kamareddy: Dhatrik Vittal ; Nizamabad (Rural): Dr. Ravindra Reddy.

Karimnagar:

Vemulawada: Teegala Ravindra Goud.

Adilabad: Sirpur: L. Mongaji Patel; Chennur : A. Srinivas; Bellampalli : Amrajula Sridevi; Mancherial: Karre Lachchanna ; Asifabad : Ade Ramesh; Khanapur : Bhukhya Chandrasekhar; Adilabad: Chilukuri Tirupati; Boath : T. Vijayalakshmi; Nirmal: Eleti Maheswar Reddy; Mudhole: Gaddam Vittal Reddy.

Vizianagaram:

Kurupam : Nimmaka Jayaraj; Cheepurupalli: Rowthu Suneeta .

Pavan asks naxals to join mainstream

PRP believes in bringing about change along with social justice, he says Praja Rajyam Party leader Pavan Kalyan has given a call to Communist Party of India (Maoist) activists to come into the mainstream of society to bring about a peaceful change by fighting against corruption.

Addressing a large gathering at the market centre in the town, kicking off his two-day road show in Palnadu area of Guntur district on Saturday, he said that naxalites should not remain in the forests or go underground if they had real zeal to cleanse the society of criminals, cheats and corrupt people.

‘For social change’

He said that revolutionary movements had begun due to the alleged inefficient administration of the State, with corrupt politicians at the helm of affairs.

The Praja Rajyam Party was one such political party that believed in bringing a change in the society with social justice, he added

Revolution was the natural outcome of oppression of some classes, he said in his film style of dialogue delivery, which brought cheers from the people.

He identified drinking water as the main problem that was not addressed by the successive governments and promised to bring drinking water along with irrigation water to towns so that parched throats could be quenched. While there was good response to his speech in Vinukonda town at other places till he reached Dachepalli there was lukewarm response with hardly some hundreds of people attending his meetings.

Palnadu region development would be on top of the party’s agency, he said and added that the floor of the Assembly would be the future battleground to do justice to the downtrodden and SC, ST and BCs.

The Yuva Rajyam district convener Tulasi Dharma Charan and party ticket aspirant Ammireddy Anji Reddy went round with him. He will continue his journey from Dachepalli to Nagarjuna Sagar on Sunday.

Meanwhile, there were some tense moments at Karempudi when Praja Rajyam Party workers manhandled a videographer of a satellite news channel at a temple close to the cement factory here, while he was filming the cine actor Pavan Kalyan praying there by breaking a coconut on Saturday evening.

The PRP Youth wing president Pavan Kalyan’s supporters took strong objection to the I-News videographer Sheik Asmathullah filming the scenes and hit him on his forehead leading to bleeding injuries. When the other media persons came to know of this, all of them boycotted the coverage of Pavan Kalyan’s tour of Palnadu region in Guntur district and sat on a dharna on the road here.

After half-an-hour of dharna, the Guntur district Yuva Rajyam convener Tulasi Charan talked to the media persons and tendered an apology for the incident and the roadshow of the PRP began after a 45-minute delay.

Grand Alliance will overcome hurdles: CPI

The Communist Party of India (CPI) expressed confidence that the trouble facing the Grand Alliance over seat-sharing among the partners would come to an end once the nominations were filed. The party refuted reports over the “fissures” in the alliance describing them as “rumours” spread by the Congress.

Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Andhra Pradesh CPI secretary K. Narayana said the alliance was sure to emerge victorious after the elections as people had seen through the “corrupt Congress rule.” This was evident from the absence of any enthusiasm in the meetings addressed by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

Women voters outnumber men

Women will have more than an equal say to decide the fate of political parties this time, because they outnumber their male counterparts by 6.1 lakhs.

There are 2,86,49,632 women and 2,80,38,325 men among the voters in the State, whose strength swelled to a high of 5,66,87,957 (over 61 per cent of the State’s population of 8,60,51,123 projected for 2009).

An interesting aspect is that the male population in Andhra Pradesh is higher by 10.3 lakhs.

There were 4,35,40,649 women as against 4,25,10,474 men in the State as on that date.

Amberpet makes its electoral debut

Making its electoral debut, Amberpet Constituency has its own niche. Established with six municipal divisions of Amberpet, Bagh Amberpet, Barkatpura, Kacheguda, Tilaknagar and Nallakunta, the constituency was once a hub of educational institutions apart from shopping mall of the middle class.

Carved out from Himayatnagar constituency under delimitation, this constituency forms a major portion of the core area in the city while Himayatnagar division is now merged into Khairatabad constituency.

While the educated upper middle class segment dots Bagh Amberpet, Nallakunta and Barkatpura areas, the lower middle class and slum population have made Amberpet and Kacheguda localities as their home. Musi river flows through length and breadth of the constituency, residents literally shiver during rainy season as lack of retaining wall leads to inundation of several residential colonies abutting the river. This perhaps, is one serious problem that still haunts residents in the constituency.

The constituency constitutes 1, 91, 053 voters, including 98, 600 male and 92, 453 female voters. Minority voters are sizeable. Ever since Himayatnagar constituency went to elections in 1978, it has witnessed keen fight between stalwarts from different political parties.

Contesting on BJP’s ticket A. Narendra won thrice in 1983, 1985 and 1992 elections; Congress veteran leader V. Hanumanth Rao emerged triumphant in 1989 elections. TDP’s C. Krishna Yadav planted party presence by winning the 1994 elections. It was again G. Kishen Reddy, who re-established BJP regime in the constituency in the 2004 elections.

Even in the ensuing elections, the constituency is all set for an interesting electoral battle. While BJP is fielding its trump card in the form of sitting MLA G. Kishen Reddy, Congress party is nominating Corporation Minister, Mohd. Fareeduddin. Praja Rajyam and the Grand Alliance TDP, TRS and Left parties are yet to announce their candidates.

But even before the Grand Alliance could work on finalising the candidate, it is said, TDP and TRS party activists developed internal indifferences over supporting the high command’s decision.

It is also learnt that former Minister C. Krishna Yadav is aspiring for TDP’s nomination and in case of denial, he is planning to contest independently.

Political pundits forecast an interesting fight this time. While Mr. Krishna Yadav is strong in Amberpet and Bagh Amberpet localities, Congress party candidate Fareeduddin will be banking on the nearly 40, 000 minority votes in Amberpet and Kacheguda areas. BJP’s Kishen Reddy is wooing voters highlighting developmental works taken up in the constituency during his tenure.

Protests rock Palnadu

Two supporters of Janga try to ‘commit suicide’

Mallikarjuna Rao’s followers raise banner of revolt

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GUNTUR: Widespread protests across Palnadu region and victory rallies in Guntur capped a day of dramatic developments, hours after the list of Congress Assembly candidates was announced on Saturday. Local elected representatives of Gurazala, Macherla and Vindukonda threatened to resign en masse, protesting against the denial of seats to the sitting MLAs.

In view of the possibilities of escalating tension, Superintendent of Police Mahesh Chandra Laddha convened a meeting with senior police officers and asked them to be vigilant. Police battalions were deployed in full strength at main junctions in the towns and municipalities to prevent untoward incidents in the district.

In Guntur, a defiant Gurazala MLA Janga Krishna Murthy vowed to continue his fast in front of the District Congress Party office till the last day of filing of nominations. His close aides, including Piduguralla Market Yard chairman P. Viswanadham and veteran leader Challa Nemali Reddy, left for Hyderabad to hold talks with K.V.P Rama Chandra Rao, after the latter spoke to them over telephone.

Two supporters of Mr. Krishna Murthy climbed atop a light arch at the Hindu College Junction and allegedly threatened to commit suicide.

They relented after some time and were whisked away by the police.

Scores of his supporters from the Gurazala constituency began to pour into the Congress office since morning. The news of the final list beamed on TVs sent shock waves across the district among party cadre.

The MLA soon after realising his name was not in the final list, remained closeted with his aides for an hour.

He, however, remained evasive to queries about his possible quitting of the Congress or contesting as a rebel candidate.

In Vinukonda, followers of Makkena Mallikarjuna Rao raised the banner of revolt and threatened that they would not allow an outsider to file his nomination papers. Addressing a media conference, Mr. Mallikarjuna Rao said that he was disappointed over the rejection of his candidature.

In Macherla, supporters of sitting MLA Pinneli Laxma Reddy threatened to resign from their elected posts

Contrary to the dramatic developments in the Palnadu region, Guntur remained by and large peaceful as there were no protests from the followers of T. Venkata Rao and Sk. Nambur Subhani, the sitting MLAs of Guntur I and II. Supporters of Sk. Mastan Vali, the candidate from Guntur East, took out victory rallies and burst crackers.

Youth Congress chief quits

Peeved over denial of Assembly ticket in the general elections, Andhra Pradesh Youth Congress president T.J. Sudhakar Babu has tendered resignation to the party post.

Hours after the high command announced the list of candidates for Lok Sabha and Parliamentary constituencies, Mr. Sudhakar Babu, who failed to get the party ticket from Prathipadu (SC) constituency in Guntur district announced his decision to quit the party post. He lamented that the party had not honoured its promise to field more Youth Congress office-bearers.

He said a number of Andhra Pradesh Youth Congress office-bearers would resign protesting the injustice to them.

He is likely to meet Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and apprise him of his decision to resign.

YSR to hit campaign trail on March 25

The Congress party will get into the poll campaign mode from March 25, as Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy hits the road by formally launching his ‘Jaithra Yatra’ from Chevella Assembly constituency.

A day after he raised the battle cry beating a huge drum to symbolically launch party’s campaign, his close aides have come out with a road map for next three weeks that will see Dr. Reddy criss-cross the State holding road shows and use helicopter sparingly.

Respecting sentiment of launching his campaign from Chevella since padayatra days, sharp at 11 a.m. on March 25, he will board his trademark bullet proof air-conditioned bus from Chevella constituency, represented by Mines and Geology Minister P. Sabitha Reddy. On the first day, he will travel 115 km addressing meetings in Vikarabad, Parigi, Kodangal, and Tandur constituencies before halting for the night at Zaheerabad.

The next day, he would cover Sangareddy, Andole, Narayankhed and Narsapur and return to the city in the night. On March 27, Dr. Reddy will tour Khairatabad, L.B.Nagar and Musheerabad Assembly constituencies. On March 28 and 29, he will cover Mahabubnagar and Warangal districts by helicopter.

KCR tries to mollify Vijayashanti

Unhappy’ with Malkajgiri LS seat offer, she says she is not sure of contesting

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao met film actor Vijayashanti at her residence here on Saturday evening in an apparent bid to mollify her as she was reportedly unhappy with the constituency offered to her by the party for contesting in the elections.

He drove to Ms. Vijayashanti’s house in Jubilee Hills minutes after she told a large delegation of the party that she was unsure whether she would contest the polls at all. She wished the party well and said that all those who approached her should win the election.

The delegation tried to persuade her to contest for Malkajgiri parliamentary seat, but she gave no commitment. Mr. Rao had, a few days ago, announced at a party meeting that either Ms. Vijayashanti or he would enter the fray from Medak parliamentary constituency, considered safer than Malkajgiri.

Asked for his response after the two-hour meeting, Mr. Rao counselled reporters not to put out stories that were damaging.

He said the list of TRS candidates would be announced on Sunday or Monday morning. The delegation that went to Ms. Vijayashanti was led by senior party leader T. Sudarshan Rao. He urged her to take the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat as her glamour would not only ensure her own victory, but also that of the party candidates from the Assembly segments in that constituency.

The candidates aspiring for tickets in these segments had a selfish interest in requesting her to contest from Malkajgiri.

The leaders said she need not sweat it out to win. They would toil hard to ensure her victory.

Praja Rajyam a product of Opposition’s failure: YSR

Lack of credibility, poor show by TDP and other parties created new political space in State, says Chief Minister


Lack of credibility and poor show by the Opposition, especially the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had created new political space and resulted in the emergence of Praja Rajyam, according to Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Redddy.

Harping on “effective governance that brought credibility to the government’s welfare schemes and development programmes over the last five years,” Dr. Reddy said at a press conference here on Saturday that little or no anti-establishment mood among the electorate was providing the necessary confidence to the Congress to face the elections.

“Division of anti-Congress vote and fulfilment of the promises made by us will be the key to our handsome victory in the elections,” Dr. Reddy remarked.

Singling out the TDP for its “political bankruptcy” on various issues, Dr. Reddy said it was a strange phenomenon that its president N. Chandrababu Naidu was making promises while his brother-in-law Nandamuri Balakrishna and nephew NTR Jr. were going around the State taking the responsibility to fulfil them. “This only shows how Mr. Naidu’s credibility has eroded in the last five years,” he noted.

Dissimilar ideologies

The Chief Minister ridiculed the Grand Alliance for dissimilar ideologies among its constituents. The TRS and the CPI (M) had diametrically opposite views on separate Telangana. “Can we expect such an alliance to function in unison and take on the Congress?” he asked.

The alliance could not even hold a joint public meeting in the city and yet had vowed to bring down the Congress, Dr. Reddy quipped.

On Telangana, he said the party in principle had no objection on creating a separate State, but some issues had to be resolved. He dismissed the talk that presence of film stars of other parties would impact Congress chances. “When film stars campaign, it is a free show,” he remarked.

‘Congress, TDP misleading people’

Charging Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu with indulging in “match-fixing”, Praja Rajyam party president K. Chiranjeevi said the two leaders, good friends in the past, were trying to cheat people for keeping the reins of power between themselves.

He alleged that the two leaders, who criticised each other throughout the day became “good friends by night”. All that they had in common was “corruption”, although of different magnitudes. Their ‘close association’ was evident from the way the successive governments suppressed the reports of inquiries instituted against each other.

“Mr. Naidu went a step ahead to gift a power plant to Dr. Reddy for withdrawing cases filed against him and the latter, on his part, did not make public reports of various inquiries ordered against the TDP president,” he said pointing out that the two governments which encouraged Satyam and Maytas “distanced the firms within no time” leaving their chairman in jail.

He was addressing a massive public meeting, ‘Praja Vijaya Bheri’ here on Saturday to mark the formal launch of his party’s election campaign in Telangana. He reiterated his party’s commitment to conduct inquiries against ‘corrupt practices’ of the duo and put all facts in public domain after coming to power. “Politics has become an avocation for the leaders to earn money and PR is committed to end it,” he said, amid lusty cheers from the audience. Former Minister and senior TDP leader Kothapalli Subbarayudu formally joined the Praja Rajyam on Saturday.

Mr. Chiranjeevi also attacked the Congress and TDP for misleading people, particularly the weaker sections, with “false claims”. While both promised to give at least 100 seats to BCs ever since PR came out with social justice as its main plank, the Congress accommodated 86 BC candidates and the TDP 66 in their candidates lists for the forthcoming elections.

He said neither Dr. Reddy nor Mr. Naidu could find a suitable BC from their native districts Kadapa and Chittoor who could be fielded for the elections.

Vehemently criticising the TDP-led Grand Alliance, he said the parties that did not had any ideological similarities nor a common goal joined hands ‘just for the sake of power’.

This was evident from the fact that no party in the alliance was prepared to include separate Telangana in their common manifesto.

TDP’s promises like provision of colour televisions free of cost and cash transfer scheme in particular were “solely” aimed at seeking votes rather than addressing the needs and aspirations of the people.

Congress Assembly candidates

The following is the list of Congress candidates for the Assembly:

Sirpur– Koneru Konappa, Chennur (SC)– G .Vinod, Bellampally (SC)– Chillumula Shankar, Mancherial– N. Diwakar Rao, Asifabad (ST) – Athram Sakku, Khanapur (ST) Hari Ajmeeri Naik, Adilabad – C. Ramachandar Reddy, Boath (ST) – Anil Jadav, Nirmal – A. Indrakaran Reddy, Mudhole – Narayan Rao Patil, Armur – K.R.Suresh Reddy, Bodhan – P. Sudarshan Reddy, Jukkal (SC) – S. Savithri Gangaram, Banswada – Bajireddy Govardhan, Yellareddy – B. Janardhan Goud, Kamareddy– Mohd. Ali Shabbir, Nizamabad (Urban) – D. Srinivas, Nizamabad (Rural) – Akula Lalitha, Balkonda – Srinivas Reddy, Korutla – J. Rathnakar Rao, Jagtial – T. Jeevan Reddy, Dharmapuri (SC) – A. Laxman Kumar, Ramagundam – Baber Salim Pasha, Manthani – D. Sridhar Babu, Peddapalle – G. Mukunda Reddy, Karimnagar – Ch. Laxman Rao, Choppadandi (SC) – G. Babu Rao, Vemulawada – V. Adi Srinivas, Sircilla – Gudla Manjula, Manakondur (SC) – Arepalli Mohan, Huzurabad – Krishna Mohan, Husnabad –A. Praveen Reddy, Siddipet – Anjaiah, Medak – P. Shashidar Reddy, Narayankhed – P. Kista Reddy, Andole (SC) – C. Damodhar Rajanarsimha, Narsapur – Sunitha Laxma Reddy, Zahirabad (SC) – J. Geeta Reddy, Sangareddy – T. Jayaprakash Reddy, Patancheru – Nandishwar Goud, Gajwel – T. Narsa Reddy, Medchal – K. Laxma Reddy, Malkajgiri – Akula Rajender, Quthbullapur – K.M. Pratap, Kukatpally – V. Narsing Rao, Uppal – Raji Reddy, Ibrahimpatnam – M. Ranga Reddy, Lal Bahadur Nagar – D. Sudhir Reddy, Maheshwaram – Sabitha Indra Reddy.

Rajendranagar – Ghaneshwar Mudiraj, Serilingampally – Bhikshapathi Yadav, Chevella (SC) Kale Yadaiah, Pargi – K. Ram Reddy, Vicarabad (SC) G. Prasad Kumar, Tandur – M. Ramesh, Musheerabad – T. Manemma, Malakpet – V.N.Reddy, Amberpet – Fareeduddin, Khairatabad – Danam Nagender, Jubilee Hills – P. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, Sanath Nagar – M. Shashidhar Reddy, Nampalli – E. Vinod Kumar, Karwan – Roop Singh, Goshamahal – Mukesh Goud, Charminar – Gajula Anjiah, Chandrayangutta – Venkatesh Mudiraj, Yakutpura – G. Rajaratnam, Bahdurpura – Raza Hussain Azad, Secunderabad – Jayasudha, Secunderabad Cantt. (SC) – Dr. P. Shankar Rao, Kodangal – Gurunath Reddy, Narayanpet – Sugurappa, Mahbubnagar – Puli Veeranna, Jadcherla – Dr. Ravi Mallu, Devarkadra – Swarna Sudhakar, Makthal – C. Rammohan Reddy, Wanaparthy – G. Chinna Reddy, Gadwal – D. K. Aruna, Alampur (SC) – Sampath Kumar, Nagarkurnool – Dr. Damodar Reddy, Achampet (SC) – Vamshi Krishna, Kalwakurthy – Y. Kista Reddy, Shadnagar – Pradeep Reddy, Kollapur – J. Krishna Rao, Devarakonda (ST) – Balu Naik, Nagarjuna Sagar – K. Jana Reddy, Huzurnagar – Uttam Kumar Reddy, Kodad – Mohammad Jani, Suryapet – Damodar Reddy, Nalgonda – Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Munugode – Govardhan Reddy, Bhongir – Venkateshwar Reddy, Nakrekal (SC) – Tirumathi Lingaiah, Thungathurthy (SC) – Gudipti Narsaiah, Alair – Bikshapathi Goud, Jangoan – Ponnala Lakshmiah, Ghanpur (Station) SC) – Dr. T. Rajaiah, Palakurthi – Duggyala Srinivas Rao, Dornakal (ST)– D.S.Redya Naik, Mahabubabad (ST) – Malloth Kavitha, Narsampet – Madhav Reddy, Parkal – Konda Surekha, Warangal West – Daya Sagar, Warangal East – Baswaraj Saraiah, Wardhanapet (SC) – K. Sridhar, Bhupalapalle – G. Ramana Reddy, Mulug (ST) P. Veeraiah, Pinapaka (ST) – Kanta Rao, Yellandu (ST) Koram Kanakiah, Palair – Venkata Reddy, Madira (SC) – Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Wyra (ST) – Dr. Bukya Ramchandraiah.

Sathupalli (SC) – Sambani Chandrashekar, Kothagudem – Vanama Venkateshwar Rao, Aswaraopeta (ST) – Mitra Sen, Bhadrachalam (ST) – Kunju Satyavathi, Ichchapuram – Narhu Ramarao, Palasa – Jetti Jagan Nayakulu, Tekkali – Revathi Pathi, Pathapatnam – Vijaya Rama Raju, Srikakulam – Dharmana Prasada Rao, Amadalavalasa – Boddepalli Satyavati, Etcherla – Neelakantam, Narsannapeta – Dharmana Krishna Das, Rajam (SC) – Kondru Murali Mohan, Palakonda (ST) – Nimmakku Sugrivulu, Kurupam (ST) – Janardhan Tanti Raju, Parvathipuram (SC) – Savarapu Jayamani, Salur (ST) – P. Rajanna Dora, Bobbili – R.V.S.K. Ranga Rao, Cheepurupalle – Botcha Satyanarayana, Gajapathinagaram – Botcha Appala Narsaiah, Nellimerla – Dr. P.V. Suryanarayana Raju, Vizianagaram – K. Veerabhadra Swamy, Srungavarapukota – Raghu Raj, Bhimli – Uma Rani, Visakhapatnam East – V. Appa Rao, Visakhapatnam South – Dronamraju Srinivas, Visakhapatnam North – T. Vijaya Kumar, Visakhapatnam West – M. Vijaya Prasad, Gajuwaka – Gurumurthy Reddy, Chodavaram – Karanam Dharmasri, Madugula – A.V. Ramamurthy Naidu, Araku Valley (ST) – Kantamma, Paderu (ST) – P. Balaraju, Anakapalle – Konathala Ramakrishna, Pendurthi – T. Vijaya Laxmi, Elamanchili – U. Venkata Ramana Raju, Payakaraopet (SC) – G. Babu Rao, Narsipatnam – Muthyala Papa, Tuni – Raja Ashok Babu, Prathipadu – V. Subba Rao, Pithapuram – M. Padmanabham, Kakinada Rural – Dommithi Venkateswarlu, Peddapuram – T. Gopalakrishna, Anaparthy – Sesha Reddy, Kakinada city – Chandrasekhar Reddy, Ramachandrapuram – P. Subhashchan- dra Bose, Mummidivaram – P. Satish Kumar, Amalapuram (SC) – P. Viswaroop, Razole (SC) – Rapaka Vara Prasad, Gannavaram (SC) – Pamala Rajeswari Devi, Kothapeta – Ch. Jaggi Reddy, Mandapeta – B. Krishnarjuna Chowdary. Rajanagaram – Chitturi Ravindra, Rajahmundry City – R. Suryaprakash Rao, Jaggampeta – Thota Narasimham, Rampachodavaram (ST) – K.K.V.V.V. Satyanarayana Reddy, Kovvur (SC) – Mohsen Raja, Nidadavole – G. Srinivasu Naidu, Achanta – Pathani Satyanarayana, Palacole – Bangaru Usha Rani, Narasapuram – M. Prasada Raju, Bhimavaram – P. Ramanjaneyulu, Undi – P. Sarraju, Tanku – K. Nageswara Rao, Tadepalligudem – K. Satyanarayana, Unguturu – V. Vasantha Kumar, Denduluru – Kottari Ramachandra Rao, Eluru – A.K. Srinivas, Gopalapuram (SC) – Usha Madiga, Polavaram (ST) – T. Balaraju, Chintalapudi (SC) – M. Rajesh Kumar, Tiruvuru (SC) – Dirisam Padmajothi, Nuzvid – M. Venkata Pratap Appa Rao, Gannavaram – M. Venkateswara Rao,Gudivada – P. Venkateswara Rao, Kaikalur – Y. Raja Ramchander, Pedana – Jogi Ramesh Goud, Machilipatnam – Perni Venkataramiah, Avanigadda– Mandali Buddha Prasad, Pamarru (SC)– D. Y. Das, Penamaluru– K. P. Sarathy, Vijayawada West– Mallika Begum, Vijayawada Central – Malladi Vishnu, Vijayawada East– Devineni Rajasekhar Nehru, Mylavaram– Appasami Sandeep Nannu, Nandigama (SC)– V. Parameshwar Rao, Jaggayapeta– S. Udayabhanu, Pedakurapadu– Patan Noorjahan, Tadikonda (SC)– D. Manikya Vara Prasada Rao, Mangalagiri– Kandru Kamala, Ponnur– Leeladhar, Vemuru (SC)– M. Nagarjuna, Repalle– M. Venkatramana Rao, Tenali– Nadendla Manohar, Bapatla– Gade Venkat Reddy, Parthipadu (SC)– Sucharita, Guntur West – Kanna Lakshminarayana, Guntur East–MastanVali, Chilakaluripet– M. Rajashekhar, Narasaraopet– K. Venkata Krishna Reddy, Sattenapalli– Y. Venkateswara Reddy, Vinukonda– Chebrolu Narandranath, Guruzala– Dr. Alla Venkateswarlu, Macherla– P. Ramakrishna Reddy, Yerragondapalem (SC)– A. Suresh Kumar, Darsi– Dr. B. Siva Prasad Reddy, Parchur– Dr. Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, Addanki– G. Ravi Kumar, Chirala– Krishna Mohan, Santhanuthalapadu (SC)– Danam Vijay Kumar, Ongole– B. Srinivasa Reddy, Kandukur– M. Maheedar Reddy, Kondepi (SC)– G. V. Seshu, Markapuram– K. Pedda Konda Reddy, Giddalur – B. Chandrashekar Yadav, Kanigiri – Ugra Narsimha Reddy, Kavali – Vishnuvardhan Reddy. Atmakur – Anam Rama Narayana Reddy, Kovur – P. Srinivasulu Reddy, Nellore City – B. Anil Kumar Yadav, Nellore Rural – A. Vivekananda Reddy, Sarvepalli – Adala Prabhakar Reddy, Gudur (SC) – Panabaka Krishnaiah, Sullurpeta (SC) – Vinnamala Saraswati, Venkatagiri – N. Rajya Lakshmi, Udayagiri – M. Chandra Sekhar Reddy, Badvel (SC) – Kamalamma, Rajampet – Amarnath Reddy, Kadapa – Mohd. Ahamadullah, Kodur (SC) – K. Srinivasulu, Rayachoti – Srikanth Reddy, Pulivendula – Dr. Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy, Kamalapuram – G. Veerashiva Reddy, Jammalamadugu – C. Adinarayana Reddy, Proddatur – N. Varadarajula Reddy, Mydukur – D.L. Ravindra Reddy, Allagadda – G. Pratap Reddy, Srisailam – E. Pratap Reddy, Nandikotkur (SC) – L. Venkatswamy, Kurnool – T.G. Venkatesh, Panyam – K. Rambhupal Reddy, Nandyal – C. Shilpa Mohan Reddy, Banaganapalle – Challa Rama Krishna Reddy, Dhone – Kotla Sujathamma, Pattikonda – S.V.Mohan Reddy, Kodumur (SC) – P. Murali Krishna, Yemmiganur – K. Channakeshava Reddy, Mantralayam – Madhusudhan, Adoni – Y. Sai Prasad Reddy, Alur – Neeraja Reddy, Rayadurg – R. Ramachandra Reddy, Uravakonda – Visveshwar Reddy, Guntakal – Madhusudan Gupta, Tadipatri – J.C.Diwakar Reddy, Singanamala (SC)– Sailajanath, Anantapur Urban – Gurunath Reddy, Kalyandurg – N. Raghuveera Reddy, Raptadu – T. Prakash Reddy, Madakasira (SC) K. Sudhakar, Hindupur – Lakshmi Narayana, Penukonda – K.T.Sridhar, Puttaparthi – K. Mohan Reddy, Dharmavaram – K. Venkatrama Reddy, Kadiri – J. Ramaiah, Thamballapalle – G. Shankar Yadav , Pileru – N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Madanapalle – Shahjahan Basha, Punganur – P. Ramachandra Reddy, Chandragiri – Galla Aruna Kumari, Tirupati – Karunakar Reddy, Srikalahasti – S.C.V. Naidu, Satyaveedu (SC) – K. Narayana Swamy, Nagari – R. Chenga Reddy, Gangadhara Nellore (SC) – T. Doraiswamy, Chittoor – C.K. Babu, Puthalapattu (SC) – Dr. P. Ravi, Palamaner – D. Reddappa Reddy, Kuppam – M. Subramanyam Reddy.

This is the best list: D. Srinivas

Pradesh Congress Committee president D. Srinivas has said his party struck a perfect balance in the party list of candidates to contest the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections by giving priority to all sections of the society. “This is the best list and prepared by observing the social justice. Backward Classes were given more than 70 seats,” said Mr. Srinivas here after the release of the list of candidates, on Saturday evening. He said 11 to 12 seats were given to minorities, four each were allotted to Madigas and Malas in the Parliament and almost an equal number of seats to both sections in the Assembly. Women were given a top priority, he added.

As there were many sitting members, the party could not accommodate several aspirants.

Redeem Telugu pride, NTR Jr. tells people

Junior NTR called upon the people to redeem Telugu pride by bringing TDP to power in the coming general elections. The TDP’s victory would also spell the end of misrule of Congress which did nothing except filling its coffers.

Speaking at a roadshow at Sarpavaram Junction in Kakinada on Friday, Mr. NTR said TDP was the best bet for people who wanted welfare and good governance and exhorted them to teach a lesson to the ruling dispensation which never cared for their well-being. Unlike the Congress, TDP was committed to deliver its promises and people should give it a chance to do that.

The Congress party has failed on all fronts and no other party offered a credible alternative to it, which strengthens the case to elect TDP, he asserted and suggested to people to see the ground realities while casting their votes.

NTR Jr. lashes out at Chief Minister

Corruption affects development in the State, he says

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Only Naidu can steer State to growth

TDP will scrap the coastal corridor if voted to power

The Telugu Desam Party’s star campaigner N.T. Rama Rao junior described the Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy as a modern Bhageeratha who flowed rivers of corruption and one who bequeathed the State’s wealth to businessmen.

The Congress party was mired in corruption because of which development took a backseat while even natural resources were plundered by the ‘ruling elite’, he observed.

Speaking in roadshows here on the temple town of Annavaram on Saturday, Mr. NTR junior has also suggested to the people to not cheat themselves by once again voting for the Congress party during whose regime the State had backtracked by 50 years. It would be equally perilous to believe in the change factor being advocated by Praja Rajyam party.

“Chandrababu Naidu is the only experienced driver who can safely steer the bus (Andhra Pradesh) to safety (growth)”, he asserted, while seeking the people’s mandate for the TDP.

Resuming his State-wide electioneering tour after the previous night halt at Payakaraopeta in Visakhapatnam district, Mr. NTR junior said farmers in East Godavari district were badly hit by government’s failure to ensure adequate supply of water to crops in Godavari delta, due to which crops in nearly five lakh acres have withered.

Government could neither prevent illegal impounding of Godavari river water by other States nor optimally utilise available water in irrigation systems like Yeleru reservoir.

TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao had got a statue of Sir Arthur Cotton installed on the Tank Bund at Hyderabad as a fond remembrance of the instrumental role played by him in the transformation of Godavari districts into India’s ‘Rice bowl’.

Cotton barrage had changed the entire landscape and brought about a Green revolution in the country. “Unfortunately, the same fertile region is craving for help today as the government had other priorities”.

Coastal Corridor

Mr. NTR junior further alleged that the government’s intention behind acquiring arable lands in the names of the Coastal Industrial Corridor and Special Economic Zones was to do real estate business.

The farming and fishing communities were the worst affected as their lands were forcibly taken over in advance without compensating them adequately.

If it comes to power, the TDP would scrap the coastal corridor.

TDP Polit Bureau member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, party district president N. Chinna Rajappa and former minister Chikkala Ramachandra Rao were among those present.

Chiranjeevi alleges Naidu-YSR ‘match-fixing’

Alleging ‘match-fixing’ between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Opposition Leader N. Chandrababu Naidu, Praja Rajyam president K. Chiranjeevi on Saturday said they were only hoodwinking people to keep power between themselves.

Addressing a mammoth ‘Praja Vijaya Bheri’ rally at the Parade Grounds here, he said the two leaders who were criticising each other all day, became good friends by night. “And the only thing they have in common was ‘corruption’, although of different magnitudes. After all, they are from the same school [Congress],” he said.

‘CPI (M) cannot stop Telangana formation’

It is for the people to decide and a resolution should be passed in the Assembly: Yechuri

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HYDERABAD: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has reiterated that its principle position against smaller States continues to be in place, but asserted that the party will not be in a position to stop formation of separate Telangana State.

“Who are we to give Telangana. When Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand States were formed despite our opposition, why will Telangana stop,” CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said.

He said it was for the people of the State to decide and a resolution should be passed in the Assembly. The TDP and TRS , both partners in the Grand Alliance, have already taken a decision in this direction. “Things will go on when all the forces are determined,” he said replying to queries on whether the party will support separate Telangana. Mr. Yechury said the people were seeking a “shift in the political trajectory of the country” based on which the Left parties had intensified their efforts for forming an alternative to the Congress and the BJP.

YSR tops list of poll code violators: Naidu

YSR has 19 cases slapped against him

TDP chief hails EC action against DGP

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HYDERABAD: Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday described Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Redy as “violator number one”, as far as model code of conduct was concerned with 19 cases slapped against him so far.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Naidu released a list of these cases from October 1986 when a case was booked against him and his supporters for assaulting deputy director of agriculture to submission of false declaration of assets in 2004 Assembly elections.

In between, there were cases that included setting on fire of ballot boxes in 1989 Lok Sabha elections, rigging on May 3, 1995, at Vempally in Kadapa, carrying campaign beyond specified time in 1996 Lok Sabha elections, attack on Valluru police station in 1997 and violation of code in 1998 Lok sabha elections.

Money, muscle power

“This time too there is danger of the Chief Minister using money and muscle power to influence voters and that is why we want Election Commission to take all necessary steps to conduct the elections in a free and fair manner.”

On Congress MLA Daggubati Venkateswara Rao’s letter to Balakrishna, Mr. Naidu said everyone in the State knew that the Chief Minister was behind it.

“Beyond that I will not comment. We will not stoop down to the level where you focus only on personal issues. We will only talk about issues and leave the rest to people.” Asked about Mr. Balakrishna’s moustache twirling and thigh-slapping action in front of Mr. Venkateswara Rao’s house, he said one should not forget that he was a film artiste.

When the Chief Minister himself could do so many actions in public meetings, why can’t a film star, he asked. Hailing EC’s action against the Director-General of Police, he said it was slap on the face of the government. It would send a warning to officials who behave in a partisan manner.

Congress campaign lags behind

HYDERABAD: Bogged down by selection of party nominees for the general elections for more than a fortnight, Congress leaders are clearly lagging behind in terms of launching its campaign.

The lengthy deliberations and frequent consultations with central leadership over seat selection have taken a heavy toll on the party’s campaign as 15 days have been lost. With leaders and actors of Telugu Desam Party and the Praja Rajyam hitting the campaign trail in full earnest, the Congress party’s poll campaign is invisible.

The maiden election campaign by actor Junior NTR and road shows by his uncle Nandamuri Balakrishna have breathed new found enthusiasm among the TDP cadres. The PR workers are enthused by the electioneering by its chief K. Chiranjeevi, now in Krishna district.

Strangely, the Congress party is yet to get its act together. It is understood that the issue cropped up during Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s interaction with his close aides. Dr. Reddy, who is the party’s star campaigner, notwithstanding the presence of actors from the Telugu film world, is set to launch the campaign from Friday by holding a full-fledged press conference, the first one after returning to Hyderabad.

Party sources said Dr. Reddy is scheduled to embark on his road shows from either March 24 or 25 from Chevella. During his whirlwind tour, Dr. Reddy is slated to address roadside meetings. Plans have been chalked out to cover at least 160 Assembly constituencies. He is scheduled to take a break for two days, when he files his nomination from Pulivendula Assembly constituency. In all likelihood, his campaign will conclude in Nandikotkur. Interestingly, he had launched the 2004 campaign from Chevella where Mines and Geology Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy was the nominee and ended it at Nandikotkur, where another woman candidate Gouru Charita Reddy was fielded.

Sources pointed out that Dr. Reddy’s campaign would be aggressive in Telangana region, where he is expected to reiterate the party’s stand on the statehood. With development and welfare as its poll plank, the Chief Minister is gearing up to explain to the electorate what promises he had made in 2004 and what all have been fulfilled by his government.

To invite Sonia

The party is also planning to invite AICC president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi to campaign for at least a day. A senior APCC functionary said that party chief D. Srinivas will tour Telangana districts.

100 families join PR in Proddatur

About 100 families of TDP sympathisers of Lingareddy Kottalu in Proddatur town joined Praja Rajyam on Thursday in the presence of PR district convenor M.V. Ramana Reddy.

Will PR seek shelter under an umbrella?

What symbol will the Praja Rajyam get?

A television channel went ga ga when K. Nagendra Babu, brother of party president K. Chiranjeevi said they would probably need an umbrella to shield themselves from the harsh rays of the sun.

Was that an indication that the Praja Rajyam would share the symbol of the Sikkim Democratic Front?

Congress, TDP indulge in ‘tit for tat’

Political parties are indulging in ‘tit for tat’ to counter each other.

With NTR Junior becoming a star campaigner for Telugu Desam Party in Srikakulam, the Congress hit upon a novel idea. It brought NTR-Telugu Desam president N. Lakshmi Parvati to Srikakulam and asked her to address meetings along with Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao in criticising Mr. Chandrababu Naidu for ‘ditching’ her husband and Telugu Desam Party found N.T. Rama Rao.

A tricky question to answer

Unlike other parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is averse to declaring a Prime Ministerial candidate from among the constituent parties of the Third Front. It is firm in its line that Prime Ministers are not directly elected but chosen by the members of Parliament. “We can, no doubt, project a candidate as the Prime Minister and go to polls. But, who should take the responsibility if the Prime Ministerial candidate is defeated?” Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury asked.

Congress won only four times in 52 years

Congress candidates had won only four times since Cheepurupalli Assembly constituency was formed in 1952.

However, the party opened its account in the double member constituency (in the past, two candidates used to represent a single constituency) in 1952 when P. Gunnayya (Congress) and T.C.A. Naidu (Independent) were elected to the Assembly.

Later, G. Pydapu Naidu in 1972 and Chigilapalli Syamala Rao in 1978 had won the seat.

After a gap of 20 years since the entry of Telugu Desam in 1983, the Congress candidate Botcha Satyanarayana won the seat in 2004. In 1955(double member constituency), K. Punnaiah of KLP and M.S. Raju of Praja Socialist Party; Kotla Sanyasappala Naidu of Swathantra party in 1962 and Thaddi Rama Rao (Independent) in 1967 had won the seat.

The TDP candidates emerged victorious for five times from this constituency. It also has the distinction of sending two women of TDP – Tripurana Venkataratnam and Tankala Saraswathamma – to the Assembly in 1983 and 1989.

PR to release first list on March 22

The Praja Rajyam is all set to release its first list of candidates who will enter the fray in general elections at Hyderabad on March 22.

Praja Rajyam president K. Chiranjeevi told a press conference here on Thursday, before setting out on the final day of his road shows in Krishna district, that the party would announce the names of about 100 to150 candidates. The list of remaining candidates would be announced at a later date.

In response to a question, he made clear that Buragadda Vedavyas, the sitting MLA of the now abolished Malleswaram constituency who switched loyalties from the Congress, would enter the fray, but did not mention the name of the constituency. The announcement is being widely seen as endorsement of Mr. Vedavyas’ candidature from Machilipatnam Assembly constituency. Mr. Chiranjeevi also reiterated that Raavi Venkateswara Rao would be fielded from Gudivada. He said the party had done a comprehensive study of the candidates aspiring to contest taking various factors into consideration. Selecting a candidate was a Herculean task for the Praja Rajyam, as the party had to look into various aspects and also ensure that its ideology of social justice was met.

Polls an uphill task here

In 2004, men, material had to be transported by helicopters

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A dozen polling stations, including six in Sirpur constituency, are still considered inaccessible

The extremist threat also deters politicians from visiting interior villages

ADILABAD: Given the difficult terrain and the altitude of habitations in many parts of Adilabad district, conducting elections is literally an uphill task. Though improved road connectivity has given accessibility to some villages, the going will still be tough in many others.

Some polling stations like Mangi in Tiryani mandal under the Asifabad Assembly constituency, which were earlier inaccessible, have been connected by road. In the 2004 elections, men and material required for the elections had to be transported by helicopters.

Logistical problems

A dozen polling stations, including six in in Sirpur Assembly constituency, are still considered inaccessible.

Besides, there are some polling stations in Asifabad (ST) constituency, which are extremely difficult to reach, but are not classified as inaccessible. These are expected to pose logistical problems to election authorities.

The polling stations of Parandoli and Anthapur in Kerameri mandal, for instance, have to be accessed through hilly roads, since they are located high up in the hills.

Campaigning remains low key in these places and at other villages that are difficult to reach such as Pangidi Somaram (Chennur constituency), Aigda in Dahegaon (Sirpur constituency) and Pochampally in Indervelli mandal (Boath (ST). Strangely, this phenomenon brings in some parity among political parties. The extremist threat also deters politicians from visiting interior villages.

Apart from the exposure to risk, candidates have to spend considerable time in reaching the villages. There are several other inaccessible villages, but the polling staff bring cheer to the tribals by somehow reaching their designated polling stations and conducting the election.

Congress corrupt to the core, says Chiru

The Praja Rajyam chief makes an attempt to compare himself with N.T. Rama Rao

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Poor response to Chiru’s meetings in some pockets

PRP chief reiterates party’s promises to people

Hitting out at the Congress Government at the several meetings he addressed in Gudivada constituency on Thursday, the third and final day of the first phase of roadshows in Krishna district, Praja Rajyam president K. Chiranjeevi alleged that Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was “sending suitcases filled with currency” to his party leadership in New Delhi to win a pat from them.

The day’s roadshows began at Ballapadu village and passed through Kalingapeta, Nandiwada, Gudivada and Gudlavalleru.

At the meetings as well as the press conference he addressed earlier, Mr. Chiranjeevi sought to draw a parallel between TDP founder N. T. Rama Rao, who represented the constituency in the Assembly, and himself. He, however, evaded a direct reply when asked whether he would fill up the gap created by NTR’s demise. Mr. Chiranjeevi merely said that it was a coincidence that the ideology of NTR and his own was one and the same. “Gudivada gave a new dimension to politics in the State, let’s repeat the history,” he said. Raavi Venkateswara Rao, the party candidate from the constituency, accompanied him throughout.

Though there was poor response to the meetings he addressed in the interior areas of Gudivada constituency, the crowds swelled as he reached the town, where a massive gathering waited for him.

Even while criticising the government’s programmes and the alleged corruption in execution of Jalayagnam, Mr. Chiranjeevi reiterated his party’s promises to farmers, middle class, students and women.

He asserted that thousands of crores of rupees had been spent on irrigation projects but without a vision. There were many districts and places in the State, including Gudivada, that had scarcity of drinking water. “You are surrounded by water, but the government has failed to quench your thirst. What’s the use of Jalayagnam?” he questioned.

Mr. Chiranjeevi also blamed the Rajasekhara Reddy Government for not being to utilise natural resources available in the State. While the Gujarat government was reaping the benefits of natural gas available here, the State government remained a mute spectator. The Praja Rajyam would seriously look into this and supply cooking gas at just Rs.100 a refill.

The matinee idol-turned-politician hit out at the government on the issue of price rise and “failure to ensure minimum support price of Rs.1,000 a quintal to paddy”.

Reacting to the criticism that the Praja Rajyam would wind up welfare schemes if voted to power, Mr. Chiranjeevi asserted that welfare schemes would be continued more energetically until there were no hunger deaths. But corruption in welfare schemes would be checked and loopholes plugged to better the lives of the poor and the downtrodden.

Grand alliance to come out with first list soon

Even as the grand alliance in Andhra Pradesh gears up to announce the first list of candidates for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in two or three days’ time, confusion prevails over sharing of some seats among the four partners — Telugu Desam Party, Telangana Rashtra Samiti, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Several rounds of talks, the latest one being on Thursday and a broad understanding over a number of seats notwithstanding, consensus over who will contest from where in respect of a few seats, eludes the fledgling alliance. Leaders of the alliance continue to be under tremendous pressure with claims and counter-claims over seats.

With the Congress almost ready with the list, TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu stepped up efforts on Thursday to iron out differences by holding long discussions with TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao and CPI (M) State secretary B. V. Raghavulu. Mr. Naidu met the CPI State secretary, K. Narayana, on Wednesday.

‘Deal almost clinched’

TDP sources however contended that the deal had been clinched barring a few seats mostly in Telangana region. A final announcement is being deliberately withheld till the issue of formal notification calling for nominations. They said the differences would be sorted out in the next two days so that the list could be announced between March 21 and 23.

Unanimous election of sorts

Charminar has been the stronghold of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and has elected only the party candidates in the last seven elections right from 1978 onwards.

A notable feature of this Assembly segment is that only once did the runner-up, BJP’s C. Ashok Kumar get 23.01 per cent votes in 1983 and in all other elections, the nearest rival to the MIM’s candidate did not cross the 20 per cent mark. Conversely, the MIM’s votes polled ranged from a low of 52.41 per cent in (2004) to a high of 72.33 per cent in 1989 when Virasat Rasool Khan got elected.

The party president Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, fondly called ‘Salaar’ got elected from this constituency in 1978 and 1983. Mohd. Mukarramuddin (1985), Virasat Rasool Khan (1989), Asaduddin Owaisi (1994 and 1999) and Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri (2004) were the others who go elected.

In the last elections, it was a woman nominee from Telugu Desam Party, Tayyaba Tasleem who challenged the might of MIM, but she managed to get just 12.90 per cent of votes polled.

Will Lokesh do a Jagan?

Will he or will he not enter politics? This is the question on everyone’s lips after some Telugu Desam leaders “leaked out” information that the party president, N. Chandrababu Naidu’s son Lokesh was behind the Cash Transfer Scheme. Cash scheme

Ever since the party leaders spun the story of how the usually low profile Lokesh spent long hours on the Internet to study the schemes offered by various countries, more so Latin American ones, resembling the Indian socio-economic conditions, speculation was rife that he could join the “long list of sons following footsteps of their politico fathers.”

Striking a balance

Speculation had much to do with a series of events or rather coincidences, the first one, again floated by party leaders, was that he could campaign alongside his more popular cousin, Telugu film star Junior NTR.

The tour would be his ‘political arangetram’, they explained.

Political rivals of the TDP saw in it a move to strike a balance, as Junior NTR became an instant hit with the masses.

Then came the announcement of the Cash Transfer Scheme and the same leaders traced it to Mr. Lokesh. It stuck partly, though Mr. Naidu himself told a few correspondents informally that it was “discovered” four months ago after intensive study by a group of economists but kept a secret lest the Congress “hijacks it like it did in the case of the Rs. 2 a kg rice scheme.”

Matter of time

The third assumptive coincidence was on expected lines. Can Lokesh be far behind when Jaganmohan Reddy, the rising son of Mr. Naidu’s rival, Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has already declared himself a Lok Sabha candidate from Kadapa?

Well, it’s election time and it’s time for rumour mills to work overtime! Or is it a case of the wily Mr. Naidu testing waters for his son.

TDP complains against Sakshi TV

The TDP on Monday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Sakshi TV channel owned by Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, son of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, accusing it of violating the provisions of the Cable Television Networks (regulation) Act and the model code of conduct.

M. A. Shariff, TDP general secretary, in message faxed to the EC, alleged that the Sakshi channel was ‘unleashing political propaganda of the worst kind by telecasting various defamatory visuals under the guise of programmes which contains insinuations against N. Chandrababu Naidu, and other TDP leaders.

The complaint sought EC directions to Sakshi channel to stop the telecast of programmes which contains defamatory visuals and initiate appropriate penal proceedings against those responsible for such telecast.

In another complaint to Election Commission, TDP charged Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy, N. Varadarajulu Reddy, MLA, and other Congress leaders with violating the model code of conduct in the election campaign at Proddatur in Kadapa district during the day, by using Congress flags, buntings and welcome banners.

Purandeswari likely to be fielded from Visakhapatnam

The Central Election Committee of the Congress which met till late Monday night is understood to have cleared the list of almost all the candidates for Lok Sabha from the State. A majority of the sitting MPs are learnt to have been renominated in the list.

An official announcement of the candidates is, however likely to be made in two days.

According to the tentative list cleared by the CEC, Killi Kriparani has been renominated from Srikakulam Lok Sabha and Botcha Jhansi will be the candidate from Vizianagaram. Kishore Chandra Deo is likely to be fielded from the newly-created Araku constituency while Sabbam Hari is tipped as the party nominee from Anakapalle.

Daggubati Purandeswari is likely to be fielded from Visakhapatnam and M.M. Pallam Raju renominated from Kakinada while Vundavalli Arunkumar has been retained from Rajahmundry.

Repeat history, NTR tells people

People have been asked to put the Congress on the mat to end corruption at every level. Star campaigner for Telugu Desam N.T. Rama Rao junior, during his brief speeches at Jinnam, Gadasam, Porali and Garbham villages in Gajapathinagaram and Cheepurupalli constituencies on Monday, called upon people to recall the days in 1982-83 when they rallied behind his grandfather N.T. Rama Rao and appealed to them to repeat history.

People, who waited for him patiently in the hot sun, cheered lustily whenever he talked about late NTR and his pet schemes of Rs.2-a-kg rice and janata dhoti and sari that were meant to provide them two square meals a day and alleviate the sufferings of the poor.

He said the social justice that some parties had been promising now was adopted during late NTR rule.

PRP’s plea for common symbol

Arguments on behalf of the Election Commission of India on the writ petition filed by Praja Rajyam Party seeking a common symbol for all its candidates will take place before a division bench of the A.P. High Court on Tuesday.

The Bench comprising Justice B. Prakasha Rao and Justice Bhavani Prasad on Monday perused the arguments advanced by Vedula Venkata Ramana who appeared on behalf of Praja Rajyam Party. The petitioner contended that the rule which stipulates that the symbol will be allotted only after participating in one general election is unconstitutional. Seeking a direction to the EC for allotment of a common symbol, he drew comparison with the TRS which was given a common symbol earlier..

The arguments by a senior counsel on behalf of the Election Commission will commence in after noon session on Tuesday. The counter affidavit filed on behalf of the commission said that the case of TRS was different as it proved its mettle and existence in the local body elections though they are not held under the provisions of the representation of Peoples Act.

Arguments on behalf of the Election Commission of India on the writ petition filed by Praja Rajyam Party seeking a common symbol for all its candidates will take place before a division bench of the A.P. High Court on Tuesday.

The Bench comprising Justice B. Prakasha Rao and Justice Bhavani Prasad on Monday perused the arguments advanced by Vedula Venkata Ramana who appeared on behalf of Praja Rajyam Party. The petitioner contended that the rule which stipulates that the symbol will be allotted only after participating in one general election is unconstitutional. Seeking a direction to the EC for allotment of a common symbol, he drew comparison with the TRS which was given a common symbol earlier..

The arguments by a senior counsel on behalf of the Election Commission will commence in after noon session on Tuesday. The counter affidavit filed on behalf of the commission said that the case of TRS was different as it proved its mettle and existence in the local body elections though they are not held under the provisions of the representation of Peoples Act.

Owaisi brothers reach out to voters

No speeches or promises. Just a ‘salam’ and a handshake. The crowd goes ga-ga and roars “Majlis ko vote do”.

No celluloid stars yet they cast a mesmerising spell. Asaduddin Owaisi and younger brother, Akbaruddin Owaisi, work up a magic as they move around the interior lanes and by lanes of the Old City seeking support. That they have a head start in the ‘purana sheher’ is clear. While other parties are yet to make their presence felt here, the Majlis banners and cut-outs greet one everywhere.

The Owaisi brothers, the mainstay of Majlis, have set up a punishing pace for themselves aware of the stiff challenge the Grand Alliance is posing. They go around different constituencies for three hours in the morning and evening and address series of public meetings in the night.

Reaching out

But it is one-to-one contact that they rely on. Both freely mix with the people and reach out to them. At Eedi Bazaar in Chandrayanguttta constituency, they go door to door seeking votes.

“Sola April ko Majlis ko vote dena hai Parliament aur Assembly keliye”, says Mr. Asaduddin (You have to vote Majlis on April 16).

Youth particularly mob him while some of them shout “Majlis zindabad” slogans.

The Owaisis are profusely garlanded by shopkeepers and even tied victory bands on the arms. An elderly woman blesses Mr. Asaduddin as he bends his tall frame. “Ammajan don’t forget to vote Majlis,” he reminds her.

At Kumarwadi colony a butcher stretches out to shake hands while a barber comes out of the hair-saloon to see what the ‘tamasha’ is all about.

There is a mad rush among the people to pose for a photograph with the Owaisi brothers and invite them to their house.

Mohd. Samee-ur-Rehman is all smiles when the Majlis leaders enter his house. Chai and biscuits are quickly served and a shawl presented to Mr. Asaduddin.

“Though people in Old City always support Majlis, I never saw such enthusiasm. Whenever opponents come together to challenge Majlis people respond this way”, says Mr. Akbaruddin.

Surprisingly, the Majlis leaders do not make any promises. “We don’t believe in giving assurances like other parties. We just do what is required for people. That’s why Majlis doesn’t have an election manifesto”, says Mr. Asaduddin.

Fear of rebels haunts Congress

The ruling Congress party could have well announced its candidates contesting the general elections since most of the names have been more or less finalised. But, fear of dissensions and rebels entering the fray is preventing the party from not making the names public.

There is no ambiguity at least in the following constituencies – Former Minister M. Sashidhar Reddy from Sanatnagar Assembly constituency and B.C. Welfare Minister M. Mukesh from the newly carved Goshamahal constituency. The incumbent Minister could be in for some tense moments as the unofficial ally – Majlis, too are likely to field a candidate from the constituency.

P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy, son of former CLP leader P. Janardhan Reddy, is going to shift base to another new Assembly constituency – Jubilee Hills. However, his efforts to get another party ticket to his sister, Vijaya Reddy, to contest from Khairatabad, might not fructify as there are strong indications that city Congress chief D. Nagender is likely to contest from here.

Former Pradesh Congress President K. Keshav Rao’s second son, K. Viplava Kumar, is to contest from another new Assembly segment of Serilingampally. An ex-Chairman of the AP Police Housing Corporation V. Narsing Rao is likely to contest from Kukatpally constituency. After much speculation, it is becoming clear that Siddipet MP Sarvey Satyanarayana would be contesting from Secunderabad Cantonment. The Congress party is studying the option of fielding two erstwhile heroines. If party gives the go ahead, Jayasudha could enter the fray from Secunderabad while Jeevitha, wife of actor Rajasekhar, may find herself testing her luck from either Musheerabad or Uppal. Son of former Chief Minister T.Anjaiah, T. Srinivas Reddy, is also aspiring for the seat, which is presently represented by his mother T. Manemma.

The war of nerves between MLA M. Ranga Reddy and ex-HUDA Chairman D. Sudhir Reddy continues. Both are keen on L.B. Nagar segment but as things stand now, Mr. Sudhir Reddy could be getting the ticket from here forcing Mr. Ranga Reddy to shift to Ibrahimpatnam. G. Srinivas Reddy is being mentioned for Malakpet segment while Adam Vijay Kumar’s name figures prominently from the new Malkajgiri segment.

Rangareddy district chief K.M. Pratap could be in the fray from Qutbullapur and another party leader Abid Rasool Khan is aspiring for the Amberpet constituency. The names of R. Laxma Reddy and Shyam Prasad Reddy also figure from Uppal.

Interestingly, other than the name of one, M.S. Prabhakar Rao from Nampally segment, there is not much information about aspirants from the Old City. The party’s “unofficial” understanding with MIM could see token contest by the Congress, sources maintained.