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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Pawan Kalyan made to wait for one hour

Yuva Rajyam president Pawan Kalyan was forced to wait at the party office on Road No. 46, Jubilee Hills, for over an hour, by Gopal Yadav, a staunch follower of the late Khairatabad MLA P. Janardhan Reddy.

The Congress leader was supposed to join Praja Rajyam on Sunday in Mr. Pawan Kalyan’s presence at 10 a.m.

Enquiries revealed that Mr. Yadav was ‘enticed’ to switch sides and join Praja Rajyam only on being promised that he would be given the party ticket for Khairatabad

Gopal Yadav, a follower of late PJR was to join PR

He wanted PR to declare his name for Khairatabad

Assembly constituency, which is now much smaller after being divided into four more constituencies – Kukatpally, Qutbullapur, Serilingampally and Jubilee Hills. Mr. Pawan Kalyan’s aides frantically called him from 10 a.m. onwards, saying that the Yuva Rajyam president was waiting for him at the party office.

But Mr. Yadav is understood to have insisted that only if an announcement was made, declaring him as the party’s contestant from the constituency, he would come.

Last laugh

Finally, the aides managed to convince him, but Mr. Pawan Kalyan had the last laugh.

After welcoming him at the party office and garlanding him by way of a welcome, he left the place without formally introducing him to the waiting mediapersons!