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Ruling out the possibility of a hung assembly, Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi today asserted that his party would form the next government in Andhra Pradesh by securing "nothing less than 160 seats" in the recently concluded polls.
Talking to newsmen at the end of the PRP's political affairs committee meeting here today, Chiranjeevi said, " That people are longing for a change has become evident in the elections.. Where there was a silent voting in favour of PRP. Mostly women and youths silently voted in a big way for our party."
Also, the PRP also left a profound impact on the voters, as the trends indicated, he said.
Though he did not specify the number of Lok Sabha seats his party would win, Chiranjeevi said they would support the Fourth Front to form the next government at the Centre.
Asked which seat he would vacate in case of his election from Palakollu and Tirupati, the PRP chief said, "I have not yet decided on this. But whichever seat I will vacate, I will adopt that constituency and strive for its development like the one I retain."
He alleged that the ruling Congress spent crores of rupees and pumped liquor so heavily to defeat him in both the places.
"The Congress stooped to such a low that it flooded both Palakollu and Tirupati with money and liquor with the sole objective of defeating me in the elections. But the vigilant voters did not fall prey to such nefarious tricks," Chiranjeevi pointed out.
He complimented the state Chief Electoral Officer I V Subba Rao and Director General of Police A K Mohanty for ensuring free and fair elections without any malpractices.
Earlier, PRPs political affairs committee reviewed the electoral prospects of the party. It also reportedly discussed the possibility of a hung Assembly and the strategy to be adopted by the party in such eventuality.
Senior PRP leaders P Shiv Shanker, P Upendra, Allu Aravind, K Kala Venkat Rao and others attended the meeting.
The party's ideologue and one of the founding fathers P Mitra was conspicuous by his absence amidst talk that he was quitting the party.
Gone are the days when the print media has been coming up with the truth to the people. These days it looks like political favoritism is the main key. Something like that seems to be happening when one looks at media like Eenadu, Etv, Andhra Jyothy, Surya etc
Apparently, all the given names happen to be strong sympathizers for the Telugu Desam party and ever since the polling has been completed, they have been coming up with reports and analysis that predict a huge landslide victory for Mahakootami and TDP in particular.
However, many say that this is just a hype that they are creating and it is more like ‘building castles in the air’ for them. Reliable sources have been maintaining that Congress looks quite confident about getting the majority and continue their term for another five years. Let us see how this goes.
From a long time, the city of Vizag had been the strongest domain for T Subbarami Reddy and he had been ruling the roost. But now it is heard that this multifaceted man seems to be a bit worried and the cause for that is none other than Daggubati Purandareswari.
It is known that Purandareswari has been contesting for the parliamentary seat from this city and locals have been saying that she has got a good name. This has become the worry for Subbarami Reddy since he is said to be feeling that he has lost the grip over the city.
As it is, the locals have been complaining that there is nothing that he has done so it was obvious that they wanted to give Purandareswari the chance. While the inside reports say that her win looks quite definite, it remains to be seen if TSR is going to come up with anything to stop it from happening.
It is known news that there has been a stiff opposition for megastar Chiranjeevi and that too in his strong East Godavari district during this election. So, here is an interesting ploy the anti-Chiru forces had used to ensure that PRP does not get the votes.
In one of the constituencies in East Godavari, there was a PRP candidate in the name of Thota Trimurtulu and obviously his symbol was rail engine. However, what the opposition has done is, they brought in another independent candidate Bandi Trimurtulu and gave him the symbol Road Roller.
Due to this, many voters got confused between the symbols and the names and ended up voting more for the independent candidate. This way, there were lot of votes that were lost by the PRP candidate and this could mean that Chiru has surely lost one prospective seat here. It is said that such act was repeated in many constituencies to kill PRP and retain competition between only Congress and Mahakootami. We have to see how far Road Roller crushed Rail Engine on May 16th
Praja Rajyam Party leader and former MP Ch Harirama Jogaiah continues to trouble his party president Chiranjeevi with his loose talk.
While Chiranjeevi is exuding confidence that there is a silent wave among the people in favour of the PRP in the elections, Jogaiah punctured his balloon saying that the party has no chances of coming to power on its own. “At the most, the PRP will get a maximum of 120 seats and a minimum of 80 seats,” he told media persons in Eluru.
This has naturally come as an embarrassment to Chiru, who is already in a state of depression. He is learnt to have called Jogaiah and pulled him up for talking nonsense. Looks like Jogaiah is turning out to be another M Satyanarayana Rao for the PRP!
The Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi is not ready to reveal which party he would support in the event of a fractured mandate, but believes that the Telugu Desam chief, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, is craftier than the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S.Rajasekhar Reddy, who is “outspoken and bold.”
The comments may give food for thought to political analysts in the context of the Congress and the TD making overtures to get his support in the event of a hung Assembly.
“We can easily understand the strategies of Dr Reddy by observing his behaviour and words,” said Chiranj-eevi in an interview to this newspaper. “He (Dr Reddy) is fair and his actions are transparent. But, it is very difficult to gauge the gameplans of the TD chief. His attitude and behaviour change every hour. It is difficult to read his actions and predict his behaviour.”
Chiranjeevi himself is confident that his party would get the “magic number.” He said he was not even thinking about the possibility of a hung House. “If I consider that idea, it will be nothing but insulting people of the state, who voted for my party in support of change slogan and have enormous confidence in me,” he said.
According to the Praja Rajyam chief, the people of the state were intelligent enough to elect a competent government.
“The political history of our state reveals this,” he said. “Whenever polls were held, right from Srikakulam to Adilabad, voters gave uniform mandate as if all of them discussed it over the phone. This time too the same thing is going to happen.”
Interestingly, Chiranjeevi does not imagine his party occupying the Opposition seats in the Assembly either. He said the Congress was the main opponent for the Praja Rajyam in the polls, since the TD had lost credibility among people with its U-turns on several issues.
When asked why he was attacking Mr Naidu, after praising him in 2004, Chiranjeevi said he thought initially that the TD chief was doing good things for the state but had to change his opinion later. “I was moved by the spate of suicides of farmers during Mr Naidu’s regime,” he said. “Before the 2004 polls, Mr Naidu called on the actor Brahmanadam while he was shooting in a studio, to seek his support. I could not believe that a Chief Minister would stoop to that level. After that, my opinion about Mr Naidu began changing.”
He started developing a different attitude towards Dr Reddy after learning about the “realities” of his regime. “I respected Dr Reddy for taking up several projects and developmental works on a large-scale but then I heard that there was huge corruption behind all this,” Chiranjeevi said.
Chiranjeevi also pointed out that Praja Rajyam had spoiled a smooth Congress victory. “Had my party not been there, it would have been a cakewalk for the Congress,” he said. “Now, we have broken their monopoly.”
Regarding his party’s role in the national level, Chiranjeevi said that he would follow the “Tamil Nadu model” of giving priority to the interests of the state. He made it clear that his party would not align with the Congress-led UPA, the BJP-led NDA or the TD-led third front in the Centre.
“Praja Rajyam will be part of the fourth front launched by Samajawadi party at national level, and we will maintain equidistance from the other three fronts,” he said.
Call her Ramulamma, Naidu amma, Tejaswini and she would respond. She is none other than the former heroine Vijayashanti and right now, she has donned the role of a politician and has become a part of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
For now, the former founder of Talli Telangana party has been rubbing shoulders with the TRS head KCR. Many say that there is a strong brother-sister relationship that is supposedly said to have been formed. Meanwhile, it was reported sometime back that KCR has now begun to supply beer bottles to all his party members.
That way, even Vijayashanti also got her quota of beer bottles and folks have not confirmed whether she guzzled them or given them to the men in her camp. However, those who have been following Vijayashanti are said to be making merry since the lady Amitabh’s quota is also coming to them if not fully
Vijayawada: Speculations over a large scale of cross-voting by Kapu voters in this part of the region is making candidates jittery here. The candidates took the calculators out and were busy analysing the polling patterns. Most of the candidates, irrespective of the political affiliations, came to a conclusion that Kapu voters had used their “wisdom” and were not swayed by Chiranjeevi mania.
As per post-poll indications, the trend of cross-voting has varied from constituency to constituency and segment to segment. The PRP assembly candidates seem to have gained much from the cross-voting in Krishna district. Sources said that the PRP could win at least four assembly seats. “It has every chance of snatching another two seats in a photo-finish,” a source said. Surprisingly, the PRP nominees were considered weak till the eleventh hour and not even in the election race in most of the constituencies.
A good number of Kapu voters were believed to have preferred Buragadda Vedavyas (Machilipatnam), Myla Veerraju (Pedana), V Srinivas (Vijayawada West) and K Srinivas (Kaikalur) over their respective Congress rivals, even while it would be a close call between PRP and Congress candidates in Vijayawada Central and Gudivada segments.
Sources said PRP leader Vangaveeti Radhakrishna’s game plan to urge Kapus to vote in favour of his friend and Vijayawada LS TDP candidate V Va msi mohan reportedly backfired on him as a majority of voters preferred Congress candidate Lagadapati Rajagopal.
In neighbouring Guntur district, speculations of strong cross-voting by Kapu voters were rife. A large Kapu voter in Guntur city preferred Congress nominees for assembly seats and PRP candidate Thota Chandrasekhar for parliamentary seat.
Curiously, the voters from this community have reportedly preferred Congress candidate V Balasoury for Narasaraopet LS, while casting their votes in favour of PRP for assembly seats
There are two interesting news reports in different Telugu dailies on Monday. One report by Andhra Jyothy says there was a talk between Pradesh Congress Committee president D Srinivas and Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi over a possible post-poll alliance to form the government. It says the PRP might insist on making Chiranjeevi as the Chief Minister with Congress support; and if it is not possible, a BC leader from the Congress should become the CM with the PRP support. To say precisely, Chiranjeevi has no objection to supporting the Congress government, provided D Srinivas will become the Chief Minister. Under any circumstances, he will not accept Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to continue in power. If one can read between the lines, one would understand that it may not be the feeling of Chiranjeevi, but that of Andhra Jyothy!
The second report that appeared in Eenadu is that of Lok Satta president Jayaprakash Narayan’s speech at the party workers’ meeting in the city on Sunday. JP predicts that very soon, there would be mid-term elections in the country in the next two years and in Andhra Pradesh, it will be much earlier. He seems to be of the view that the grand alliance would come to power in the State and the Third Front at the Centre, but because of their inherent weaknesses, both the governments would collapse very soon, leading to mid-term elections.
He even called upon his party workers to be prepared for mid-term polls. Though JP’s could be a far-fetched thinking, but there is definitely some reasoning in it, as everybody knows what sort of coalition the third front could be. While Sakshi’s lead story is as usual that of the Chief Minister, who claimed a “double century” for the Congress in the elections; Eenadu’s banner is about the impending burden on the state’s exchequer on account of fancy promises made by various political parties. It says it is practically impossible to implement these promises because of huge financial commitment.
One wonders why Eenadu has not written this story before elections, because the promises made by TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu involve astronomical financial commitments. Had it written the story earlier, it would have educated the voters at least to some extent. But Eenadu wanted the TDP to come to power; and now, it is mentally preparing the people that the promises cannot be implemented!
Now that it is more or less certain that megastar and Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi will not come to power, but would emerge as a deciding factor for the next government, the question that is doing rounds is which way he would go – the Congress or the Telugu Desam Party?
Normally, it is believed that the PRP has the backing of Kapus and they would never support the TDP, backed by their traditional rivals, Kammas. And since Kapus hitherto had been part of the Congress vote bank, they would prefer Chiranjeevi to support the Congress in the event of a hung Assembly.
There is a different argument by some other PRP leaders. According to them, the Left parties would play an important role in mediating between the TDP and the PRP. If the Congress does not get the majority, it amounts to people rejecting the YSR government and therefore, people would not appreciate a PRP-Congress nexus. Secondly, YSR has the capabilities of splitting the PRP strength, as he had done in the case of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. Compared to YSR, the TDP president is a safe bet, they say.
However, Chiranjeevi can consider supporting the Congress, provided YSR is not their chief ministerial candidate. Will that happen?
Darsakaratna Dasari Narayana Rao has always been regarded as one man with great respect and image. However, with each passing day he seems to be spoiling it with his own hands. For some reason, his open hatred with Chiranjeevi seems to be backfiring against his own image.
As it is, his ‘Mestri’ caused quite a noise with many criticizing it to be personal attack on Chiru. Now, Dasari added more oil to the fire when he started canvassing during the last moments and ended up firing Chiru again with his sarcastic remarks.
The main reason for Dasari’s hatred on Chiranjeevi is not receiving respect in right form. Dasari was not invited by Chiru to join PRP. He was neglected. Now Dasari is waiting to see the downfall of PRP and also wishes Chiru too loses in Palakollu. If that happens Dasari would raise on Chiranjeevi with verbal bombardment of all forms, say sources. It seems that he would also encourage Jeevitha-Rajasekhar to use their words without fearing for Posani. We have to see if Dasari’s idea comes true.
Where is Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu going on holiday this summer?
Though TDP sources confirmed that Naidu, along with his family members, would be going on a 10-day holiday from Monday, they could not say where the family is going. Even the ticket bookings and other arrangements were made by Naidu’s Lokesh through internet; hence, party people are not aware of it.
However, there is a talk in NTR Bhavan that Naidu would be going to Switzerland, primarily to chill out. Moreover, doctors have advised him to go to a cooler place, since his skin got damaged during electioneering.
There could also be another reason for Naidu’s Switzerland visit: he would be checking his Swiss Bank accounts and might divert the money, in the wake of reports that the new government at the Centre might order an inquiry into the Indian money in Swiss Banks!
The Telugu Desam Party is angry with Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao’s statement that he would even go with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, if the latter forms the government at the Centre, to achieve his goal of Telangana.
TRS leaders said KCR’s statement did not surprise them, because everybody knows his double standard attitude. “We know that KCR is playing a gamble with us. But, unfortunately for him, the people have rejected him in the elections; you will see that the TRS would hardly get a double digit in the elections. He is going to Delhi not to press for Telangana, but to bargain with the BJP leadership for a Cabinet berth or two for his party MPs if the NDA forms the government,” a senior TD leader said.
The TDP leaders made it clear that the purpose of forging alliance with the TRS was served, as the Mahakootami fared well in the Telangana region. “Our understanding is only for the state. We are not bothered whether the TRS would go with the NDA or any other alliance at the Cenre,” they said.
Despite reports that the Congress has bleak chances of coming to power in the state, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy still looks a cool and composed man.
YSR, who went to New Delhi on Sunday to brief Madam Sonia Gandhi about the prospects of the Congress coming to power, told media persons that he would stick to his earlier statement that he would own up responsibility for the party’s performance in the elections. “Whether the Congress wins 30 LS seats or three seats, it is entirely my responsibility,” he said.
He was all smiles when it was pointed out that the Mahakootami reportedly fared well in the elections. “Why are you in a hurry? Let us wait till May 16. You will know the verdict,” he said.
Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy may be putting up a brave face saying that the Congress would get 188 assembly and 35 Lok Sabha seats, but heart in hearts, he has realised that the chances of a hung assembly are more.
Therefore, he has reportedly asked his partymen to woo back all the rebels and independents, who have bright chances of winning the elections. His confidants like Ravichand, Vatti Vasanth Kumar and others have already started contacting such candidates and bargaining with them.
According to their estimates, the Congress would not get less than 125 seats and it might require another 25 seats to reach the magic figure.
Therefore, it is looking for all vulnerable candidates, including independents and even Praja Rajyam party candidates. And money bags are anyway available!
Will Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi become king or king maker?
Going by the indications, the megastar may not realise his ambition of becoming the next Chief Minister, but he will certainly decide the fate of his contenders. His party has done well in several parts of coastal Andhra and also Rayalaseema. Especially in East and West Godavari districts, where his Kapu community is predominant, there was overwhelming voting in favour of the PRP.
If the PRP can win at least 45-50 assembly seats, Chiranjeevi would play the role of king maker, deciding the fate of the Congress and the TDP. While the TDP-led grand alliance has fared better in the first phase, the Congress recovered to a great extent in the second phase; and this might lead to a hung assembly situation.
Cross-Voting May Give Congress More Seats In LS And Fewer In Assembly
Hyderabad: Telugu actor Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party— launched only a few months before the elections were announced— may well go on to decide who will form the next government in Andhra Pradesh.
The turnout was a high 68% in the second and final phase of elections held in 20 Lok Sabha and 140 assembly seats, following up on a similar performance in the first phase.
There were also talks about cross-voting — same person voting for different parties for the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Many believe this will give Congress more seats in the Lok Sabha and lesser in the assembly. ‘‘It’s quite possible that now Chiranjeevi will decide who will become chief minister. But let us not take this as final and wait for the results,’’ said a Congress leader.
Praja Rajyam is likely to cut into the votes of Congress in a majority of constituencies. What seemed to have worked in favour of the newly created party was the ruckus created by Congress supporters on poll-eve in a five-star hotel in Tirupati where Chiranjeevi was staying with his family.
Congress activists alleged that Chiranjeevi had kept loads of money in the hotel to lure voters. “The incident portrayed Chiru as a victim and gained him sympathy,” said the Congress leader.
Congress and the N Chandrababu Naidu-led Grand Alliance are brimming with confidence about their chances in the second round, all the same.
Some political observers even warned of a surprise — the state may be headed for a hung assembly, something never seen before in this part of the world. The first phase of elections was held for 22 Lok Sabha and 154 assembly seats.
On Thursday, voters braved the scorching summer heat — in some places the temperature was over 44 degrees Celsius — to reach polling booths.
There were stray incidents of violence. A Congress worker was killed in clashes with Telugu Desam Party workers in Addanki assembly constituency in Prakasam district. Congress and TDP activists clashed in Kadapa and Chittoor districts.
Repolling was ordered in 24 polling booths in Kadapa, Anantapur, Ongole and Prakasam after miscreants damaged several electronic voting machines.
Elections are over and the fate of political parties is sealed in electronic voting machines. Yet, there are grumblings within the Mahakootami.
Communist Party of India state secretary K Narayana is still angry with his CPI-M counterpart B V Raghavulu for not withdrawing his party candidate in Mangalagiri in Guntur district, which was originally allotted to the CPI. Apparently, he got the hint that the CPI-M candidate has the better chances of winning the seat.
“Raghavulu has forgotten Mitra Dharmam (friendship agreement). He is a worse blackmailer than Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao,” Narayana said. Well, one can imagine the fate of Mahakootami, if it comes to power, with such partners without any mutual trust.
The infamous JC brothers – Diwakar Reddy and Prabhakar Reddy seem to be back in action.
Even as election authorities and police were heaving a sigh of relief over near-peaceful conduct of elections in the state, tension broke in faction-ridden Tadipatri town of Anantapur district on Friday, warranting issue or shoot-at-sight orders by the police.
About 500 Congress workers, led by J C Prabhakar Reddy went on attacking the houses of Telugu Desam Party candidate Peram Nagi Reddy and his followers in Tadipatri and damaged their properties, apart from beating several, burning vehicles and throwing stones.
The TDP men waged counter attacks, forcing the shops and offices pulled down shutters in fear. Following instructions from additional director general of police (law and order) AK Khan, the Anantapur district police issued shoot-at-sight orders in Tadipatri town “Prabhakar Reddy personally approached my polling agents on Wednesday asking them to keep off their duties as agents during polling on Thursday. Unlike earlier, our cadres stood strong against the faction family. This is the result”, said Nagi Reddy.
While chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu are set to take a break after long gruelling days of campaigning, it looks like it is all work and no play for TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao.
While the CM is scheduled to take a one-week break to cool off at Kulu-Manali hill station in Himachal Pradesh next week, Naidu is likely to go to Singapore on holiday. KCR, however, is planning to go to New Delhi on Sunday and interact with Sharad Pawar, Mayawati, Ajit Singh, and some ‘important’ BJP leaders to explore the options for the third front in the national postpoll scenario.
Besides, KCR will meet other party leaders to seek their support for the cause of Telangana. KCR is likely to meet BJP leader L K Advani as the right-wing party had promised to grant Telangana within 100 days of coming to power.
Going by the trends from the second phase of elections, the Praja Rajyam Party is expected to win at least five Lok Sabha seats – Narsapuram, Rajahmundry, Amalapuram, Kakinada and Rajampet; besides Visakhapatnam and Anakapalle in the first phase.
Besides, it hopes to win at least 35-40 assembly seats in the second phase, half of them in East and West Godavari districts, which together comprise 34 seats. In other parts of coastal Andhra -- Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore and also in Rayalaseema, PRP might win a seat or two each, but it played spoiler for the Congress in some assembly segments and the TDP in some others.
According to reports from these districts, the presence of the PRP has helped the TDP regain its hold in Krishna, Guntur and Nellore districts, while the Congress could retain its hold in several segments in Rayalaseema.
K J Rao, former Election Commission official and presently a volunteer of National Election Watch, has once again proved that he is not as sincere as he appears to the people.
Right from the beginning, Rao has been anti-Congress and particularly, anti-YSR. He has petitioned to the Election Commission several times to keep a strict vigil on Kadapa district, particularly Pulivendula, the native of Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. He was the one who was responsible for posting of top police officials in Kadapa district.
On the day of polling, Rao stationed himself at Pulivendula and even complained to the EC that the people were not able to cast their vote freely and fearlessly. However, he chose not to tour Kuppam, nor did he talk about Chandrababu Naidu’s blatant violation of election code. Well, one could know the real colours of Rao, when he started writing column only for Eenadu and appearing only in ETV discussion forums!
Much before anything is announced many moves are taking place basing on assumptions. TRS is assuming that Mahakootami would form the government for sure and the Speaker seat should be retained only by TRS candidate. The inside talk from pink shirts party says that they have got betrayed for a stretch of 5 years in Congress alliance as Speaker belongs to Congress but not to TRS. The mouths of TRS MLAs were shut in Assembly by him, they feel. On the other hand about 10 MLAs have turned in favor of Congress with the influence of Speaker and Kasani Gnaneshwar turned a rebel to KCR and became independent. He also won with the support of rebel candidates. Now, to avoid all this stuff, KCR is thinking that Speaker seat should be given only for TRS candidate than anything else.
For this, TRS is also proposing the name of Vijaya Rama Rao who led as TRS floor leader in Assembly.
Well, it is all like the Telugu adage, “Aalu ledu choolu ledu koduku peru somalingam’. Results have to come out, Mahakootami has to form government to make the wish of TRS keep on platform.
It is said that politicians make much better actors than those on the screen. While actors convey something fictitious and try to convince the audience, politicians tend to convince the real people with their acting and get away with it. The election – 2009 has been quite a dramatic event unfolding given the fact that there is a lot of film presence and a three dimensional fight that is happening. So here is a look at who could be the possible winner for the best actor award in these elections.
Jr NTR
The young tiger came up with roaring speeches during his political canvassing and reminded his legendary grandfather Nandamuri Tarakarama Rao. The flow of criticism towards oppositions and the equally good flow of assurances and promises on behalf of the Telugu Desam Party was done in a grand style by this young hero. Unfortunately, the accident struck him out of action but that did not stop him from acting in a filmy style by lying on the bed and coming out with his energetic words not once but twice. He is a strong contender.
Pawan Kalyan
Known to be a man of few words and a sympathizer with the leftist ideologies, Pawan involved directly into politics by becoming the head of Yuvarajyam, the youth wing of Praja Rajyam party. Though his initial stints were a bit groggy, he picked up the momentum and breathed fire on the other parties with each passing public meeting and road show. Pawan also suffered his share of health problems by fainting and then suffering from vomiting but then his presence had caused quite a buzz in all those interior districts. Though his speeches lacked adrenaline, his balanced words were appreciable. He has been acting with his white shawl followed bya so called sun stroke.
Parakala
The one man defied the mighty Chiranjeevi and his mastermind Allu Aravind right at a crucial time of canvassing. He came out with some really controversial and revolutionary revelations and this had created quite a bad reputation for the PRP. Especially the voice of the dissidents who were alleging that party tickets were sold at fixed prices found more strength with Parkala staging a walk out and alleging few similar remarks. For now, he has gone silent and no one knows what his next plan of action will be. He acted as yesman for Chiranjeevi in PRP but left them with his wonderful performance in a Press Meet against PRP in the office itself.
Ramoji Rao
He might come across as the quiet and low key type of person but the truth is, he happens to be a kingmaker not just in Andhra Pradesh but also in few other states as well. The media baron who has been silent all this while has come down quite heavily and openly on the Congress party and Ramoji seems to have changed the definition of the print media by giving a rather politically biased outlook. He has been acting as political power center in the disguise of Editor of a News Daily.
YS Jagan
The young man who had always liked it to be addressed as a businessman than a politician, Jagan is said to have made his debut this time from the Cuddapah segment. Though he was away from the political scenario he always made it to the headlines due to several controversies of acquiring government lands for self projects, demanding percentages from contractors in civil projects and other wrong reasons. With the backing of his father Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, many said that though Jagan has declared close to Rs 60 crores, he is today worth Rs 6000 crores or even more and all this income has been earned during the last four years. For now, Jagan is also the owner of the Sakshi group that was brought out with the sole intention of projecting Congress and give competition to Eenadu. He is also acting as debut politician although has the power of influencing state politics.
So folks, we leave the choice to you to decide who among them deserves to be given the best actor award.
A historical thing took place at 128 Polling Center of Gouse Nagar In Cuddapah district . The polling crew has stopped the activity although the citizens are in line to vote. When asked for reason they said that they have to wait till they complete their break fast. They got the packets of tiffin and entire polling crew has started eating that while the voters had to stand in line. The polling shouldn’t be stopped at any cost by polling crew for such trivial things. This is one of biggest violations of Election Code by the polling crew.
Power star Pawan Kalyan has always been one man who has been known for his different approach on films. His typical acting on screen sometimes sounds hilarious and some say that he has this approach off screen too that makes things a bit funny. Something like that happened recently.
The HMTV channel was interviewing Pawan as he got back from Vizag after his bouts of vomiting due to sun stroke. It was afternoon and sitting under a tree, Pawan was giving the interview. Interestingly, he was wearing a white shawl while talking to interviewer.
Those who have seen this on the television were having a hearty laugh about it. Some say that it is only Pawan who is capable of coming up with such unusual approach of wearing a shawl in midsummer’s afternoon and that too sit under a tree and give interview. That’s power star for you folks.
It was free for all on the penultimate day of second phase of polling in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. Huge amounts of cash and large quantities of liquor flew among voters, who would be deciding the fate of their future leader for the next five years.
While every political party did its best to lure voters with cash and liquor, it also tried to prevent its rivals from doing the same. The high drama in Tirupati, where the Congress workers staged dharna in front of the hotel where Praja Rajyam party president Chiranjeevi was staying was said to be only to divert the attention of the police from their own activity of distributing money and liquor elsewhere in the town. While the entire police force focussed on searching Chiranjeevi’s hotel room, they turned blind to distribution of money by the Congress workers in other parts. Same is the situation in Vijayawada, where the police authorities, led by the Congress leaders, attacked the house of TDP candidate Gadde Rammohan Rao to look for money, resulting in diversion of large number of TDP workers to the spot. The attention of the media and the police was only on this high drama, while the Congress workers carried out their own plan elsewhere. The police ignored the demand of the TDP workers to search the houses of Congress leaders Devineni Nehru and L Rajagopal.
Well, this is one side of the story published by Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy. On the other hand, Sakshi carried the other side of the story with Congress angle. This daily focussed on distribution of money by the CPI-M leaders in Kurnool and by the TDP leaders in Kuppam. The report said the Opposition leaders behaved in a high handed manner and prevented the police from carrying out searches. Sakshi also carried only the Congress version of the Tirupati incident and blamed it on Chiranjeevi for making a big drama. As regards the poll prospects, Sakshi carried the banner story stating that it would be a one-sided polling in favour of the Congress in the second phase; and the party would get not less than 115 assembly seats out of 140 going to polls on Thursday. It says the TDP position is miserable, while the PRP has totally become weak. The other two dailies said the Congress is desperately trying to cover up the loss made in the first phase, while the TDP is confident of sustaining the lead.
So, the final battle has begun!
The Tirupati police on Thursday gave a rude shock to Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi by searching his hotel room on the suspicion of possessing huge amount of money meant for distribution among voters.
A team of policemen went to Chiranjeevi's room at Hotel Katriya Kannses to conduct the search, following a complaint from the Congress leaders that he had kept lakhs of rupees in his room for distribution among voters.
An agitated Chiranjeevi squatted near the reception and prevented the police. He demanded that the police conduct the search in the presence of media, since there was every possibility that the police themselves could keep the money there and later show it as Chiru’s money. Sensing the trouble from the media, the police left the place without carrying out the search.
Earlier, there was a clash between Congress workers and Chiranjeevi supporters at the hotel. The police and other para military forces rushed there and resorted to lathi charge to disperse the crowds.
In Hyderabad, PRP general secretary Allu Aravind and T Devender Goud met Chief Electoral Office I V Subba Rao and Director General of Police A K Mohanty and urged them to take immediate steps to ensure free and fair polls in Tirupati constituency. They demanded that Chittoor SP be transferred within 24 hours, since he was favouring the ruling party. They wondered whether the police would dare search the rooms of Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and Telugu Desam Party president Chandrababu Naidu.
Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu has given a strong warning to Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy against indulging in dirty politics in Kuppam, from where he is contesting.
For the first time in the last two decades, Naidu campaigned in Kuppam and stayed put for the whole day in the constituency, fearing that the Congress might use all its energies to defeat him. The Congress has gained ground in the segment in the last five years. While the Congress claims that the developmental schemes helped the party improve its position in the segment, TDP workers allege that the Congress is resorting to all sorts of machinations like threatening TDP workers and foisting cases on them.
Naidu wanted to give moral support to his party workers who complained to him about goondaism of the Congress. He urged Kuppam voters to reject the money, silver ornaments, liquor offered by rivals and support him for a model Kuppam to develop and improvement of conditions in the State. “Brothers, be vigilant for two more days. Do not fall prey to the decpetive policies of Congress,’’ Naidu appealed to voters.
This is historical news. Puttaparthi Satya Sai Baba who never voted earlier has now voted this morning in Puttaparthi. He was assisted by his disciples till the polling booth. He casted his vote and stood as inspiration for millions of voters. The second phase of polling is going on in very active mode in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema districts. There are a few violent deeds being carried in many polling centers. The polling in these segments is not as peaceful as it was in first phase.
This is the hot political dialogue emerged from the daughter of Chiranjeevi. Sushmitha, the eldest daughter of Mega Star is now serious in campaigning at Palakollu. She countered the statement of Chandrababu Naidu freshly.
It should be recalled that Chandrababu said to Palakollu people, “If Chiru comes to your home as Palakollu alludu feed him with some food and send away. But don’t vote for him”.
Sushmitha answered Babu saying, “Naidu is certainly a kind of alludu who deserves only food but not vote. His history is known for all with regard to integrity as alludu’. But my father is different from that image. He is being regarded as big brother here”.
That’s the adequate reply from Mega Daughter.
It is a great relief for Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on the last day of election campaign. The Election Commission has given him clean chit with regard to his speech at Nandyal last week, in which he made certain comments against Telangana.
The Election Commission authorities in New Delhi, who went through the CDs of YSR’s speech, felt that there were absolutely no inflammatory remarks in the speech and that he had not whipped up regional passions. All that YSR spoke was only to warn about the future of irrigation projects if Mahakootami comes to power, since one of its partners, TRS, is opposed to the projects. The EC ignored YSR’s remarks that settlers would become foreigners in Telangana.
The EC’s verdict was quite expected, as it is Naveen Chawla, a staunch loyalist of Sonia Gandhi, who is at the helm of affairs in the commission. And the message to Chawla from the Congress leadership is clear: don’t embarrass YSR at the time of elections!
Telangana Rashtra Samithi will be completing eight years on April 27. But there will be no anniversary celebrations and no fire works this time.
According to TRS sources, party president K Chandrasekhara Rao has decided that there would no state executive committee meeting of the party or anniversary celebrations, as has been the practice for the last seven years. “Since the elections have just completed and there will be nothing but review about party’s performance or discuss future course of action right now. So, there will be no agenda for the anniversary meeting. Hence, the postponement,” party sources said.
The celebrations would be there only after the declaration of election results, provided the party would get sufficient seats. Till such time, any celebrations would be too premature and ridiculous. If the results are not in the TRS favour, there would be nothing to rejoice for KCR
As it is Mahakootami is a fragile structure of four incoherent political parties and one is not sure whether they would stick together after the elections.
Yet, leaders of the Kootami continue to trouble one another by making controversial statements. It was the turn of CPI-M national secretary Prakash Karat to prick the bubble of Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao. He said there was no change in the CPI-M stand on Telangana and it would continue to oppose the formation of separate state. “Telangana is not an issue before us right now. We are focussing our energies on defeating the Congress,” he said.
KCR, who is already upset with the Telugu Desam and Communists for not including his photograph in the Mahakootami rally, must be angry now. Sources say if the Mahakootami does not come to power, KCR will be the first person to break away from it. Well, it can’t be ruled out!
A woman minister in Andhra Pradesh, who is seeking re-election to the state assembly, has broken Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar’s record as she campaigned in 100 villages in 12 hours.
Galla Arunakumari of the ruling Congress party campaigned extensively in her Chandragiri assembly constituency, claiming a place in the Limca Book of Records.
The minister for medical education and health insurance broke the record of central Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who had covered 65 villages in 12 hours.
Arunakumari, who is pitted against film actress and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader R. K. Roja, addressed public meetings in each of the 100 villages for two to three minutes during her whirlwind tour Sunday. She claimed to have got good public response to the campaigning.
The minister said the idea behind this blitzkrieg was to reach out to as many voters as possible. “This was not to break any record but to cover as many villages as possible by intensifying the campaign,” she said.
Her son Galla Jayadev, managing director of Amar Raja Industries, managed her campaign. He said the aim was to reach out to the maximum number of voters in a short span of time.
Accompanied by her family members, Arunakumari started her campaigning at 6.30 a.m. and concluded it at 6.30 p.m. Delivering a quick speech in every village, the minister went about covering Chandragiri, Ramachandrapuram and Tirupati rural mandals.
The Chandragiri constituency is witnessing an all-women contest. The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) of superstar Chiranjeevi has fielded Sai Ramani Reddy while G. Pushpalata is in the fray from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Did Eenadu group chairman Ramoji Rao spend Rs 25 crore in Rajahmundry parliamentary constituency to defeat Congress candidate Vundavalli Arun Kumar?
Yes, if one were to go by the allegations levelled by Congress MLC Durgesh. He told media persons on Tuesday that Ramoji was hell bent on defeating Arun Kumar, who has been exposing the irregularities in Margadarsi scandal. “We have reliable information that Ramoji has sent Rs 25 crore through reliable persons belonging to Dolphin Hotels for distribution among voters on the eve of polling in Rajahmundry,” he alleged.
Quite possible, as Vundavalli has been pain in his ass for Ramoji for long time. It does not mind whether Murali Mohan wins or Krishnam Raju wins; all that Ramoji wants is the defeat of Vundavalli. And Rs 25 crore is worth investing to get rid of this trouble once and for all!
While Allu Arvind has been busy hatching money making plans, it is heard that the mega brothers are not too happy with the way things are taking shape. The cause for this happens to be the single handed decision that Allu has been taking even in matters of PRP without involving the brothers.
It is heard that Allu has the payment talks of PRP in star hotels and he does not like to get exposed. So while selling tickets, when he was doing one of his meets sitting in a star hotel, it is heard that Pawan Kalyan got the news and he went to meet Allu and be a part of the happening.
However, as soon as the news came in, immediately Allu is said to have checked out of the room. So when Pawan came in, nobody was around. And the room was also not booked on Aravind’s name but with some other. Incidentally, Chiru has got full faith in Allu but then Nagababu and Pawan are not too convinced on that part and so this is said to be causing some friction.
Where there is a will, there is a way and this holds good when it comes to earning money. So now, megastar Chiranjeevi seems to have become one subject who is the cause for some heavy transactions. With his debut in politics, here are a few who are making the most of it.
There is news that some heavyweights of the Balija Setty community in the Godavari districts have now got into betting about Chiru’s failure at Palakollu. Inside sources reveal that the betting has gone to the tune of a whopping twenty crores and this would be on the rise till the results are announced.
Meanwhile, Chiru has been canvassing with his family in the regions and has been trying to get the maximum mileage since the first phase reports are said to be negative for PRP. With bets happening at these rates, it must be said that the megastar will have a tough time looking for success.
Telugu Desam party’s star attraction Jr NTR has made certain changes in his script while addressing the people through television channels live on Monday.
In his latest speech, Jr NTR added the masala on Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s recent comments describing the settlers of Telangana as foreigners. He wondered whether YSR had not thought about this issue while forging alliance with the TRS before 2004 elections and including the separate Telangana issue in the Congress manifesto.
“He is trying to provoke regional feelings among the people by makingsuch statements,” Jr NTR alleged. He also ridiculed Chiranjeevi’s promise of providing all essential commodities at Rs 100 a packet. “He does not know how much quantity of provisions each family requires. Such a person is making ridiculous promises,” Jr NTR said.
Telugu Desam party president N Chandrababu Naidu has completed his “shashti poothi,” though he did not hold any celebrations.
At a simple function, he cut his cake during his electioneering in Nellore, amidst party workers and leaders. His partymen conducted blood donation camps in his name. However, Shashti Poorthi is an important event in anybody’s life. It is like a rebirth to a person. So, people celebrate it on a grand scale. One does not know why Naidu wanted it a low key affair; but his partymen say he would make it a grand celebration if he comes to power.
CM Vache, Varsham Vache’(CM has come, rain has come), was the new slogan that filled the air when a huge gathering of people spotted the chopper that brought chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to the town of Uravakonda, 55 km from here, on Monday.
The CM entered Anantapur district as part of his Election Jaitra Yatra after a long gap. Nobody was quite sure when he visited the town last. Some say this was the second visit in the last five years. Anantapur is the only district where the TDP won six assembly segments even when the Congress wave swept the state in 2004.
The TDP is summoning all its energies to increase the tally to ten while the Congress wants to win all the segments. But, the delimitation process, bickerings in the Congress, presence of strong PRP candidates, complaints against the local Congress leaders for skewing all the schemes to benefit only the party supporters, are being used by the TDP as campaign issues.
On Sunday night, there was heavy rain in the constituency, from where Congress candidate Y Visweswara Reddy is pitted in a triangular fight with TDP’s P Keshava and PRP’s G Chennakeshava Rao.
On Monday, Congress leaders tried their level best to portray the coming of rain as a good omen. At the public meeting, the organisers repeatedly asked the public to raise the slogans ‘CM vache, Varsham Vache’.
True to form, a local Congress leader said due to frequent rains in the past five years, the ground water table had risen unimaginably. “Earlier, water was not available even at 60 feet. After Y S Rajasekhara Reddy became the chief minister, we get water just at 30 feet depth,” said a Congress leader.
The pleasant cool weather helped the Congress leaders to mobilize a large crowd for the meeting. The organisers were also helped by the fact that it was also the day of village fair in Uravakonda when people from neighbouring villages throng the town to purchase commodities for the week.
Impressed by the crowds, the chief minister also tried to lift the mood of the people by reminding them of the dry days of the TDP rule. “In the nine years of TDP rule, rains failed. The regime brought all round sadness to the people,” he said, devoting most of his speech to welfare measures like NREGP, pensions, farm loan waivers and Rs 5000 incentives to those who paid loans.
Wherever there is Kamal Haasan there is bound to be some variety and loads of creativity. So, ever since he has announced his movie ‘Eenadu’ with Victory Venkatesh, things have been picking up a lot of excitement on that end. The film is a remake of the Bollywood hit ‘A Wednesday’.
Now, the shooting has been on at the famous Ramoji Film City and there is news arriving that the movie is being made at much higher technical standards than the original. Given the presence of Kamal, it is but natural that there will be a higher degree of precision and perfection.
However, it is not really sure if Kamal is going to introduce any minor changes to the script or take it from the Bollywood directly. Many say that when it is Kamal, there will be variety and most importantly, it is the way he would depict the entire movie with his technical expertise which will change the course.
It’s advantage Maha Kootami in the first phase of elections in the state, if one were to go by the field reports. Though Election Commission has banned conduct of exit polls, several media organisations and independent agencies did their own surveys and came to the conclusion that the grand alliance is better placed than the Congress.
According to these surveys, the Congress would fare badly in Telangana, mainly due to heavy split of the pro-Congress votes and consolidation grand alliance. Though the Praja Rajyam could not make much impact on the rural electorate, it could split considerable number of votes in urban constituencies such as Malkajgiri, Secunderabad, Nizamabad and Warangal. Interestingly, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is fighting it alone in these elections, has also split heavy votes in constituencies like Chevella, Mahbubnagar, Malkajgiri, Secunderabad and Adilabad. If things work out well, the BJP might even bag Secunderabad.
The Congress is likely to win only four seats in Telangana: Chevella, Warangal, Pedapalli and Nizamabad; even Renuka Chowdary’s position is not so good, say the reports. In Mahbubnagar, TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao is likely to scrape through, while his party is expected to win Zaheerabad, Medak and Karimnagar seats. In a couple of other constituencies, the contest would be tough. In all other places, the grand alliance enjoys clear advantage, field level reports say.
In north-coastal Andhra, PRP has eaten into the Congress votes that will help the grand alliance again. Out of five Lok Sabha seats in this region, the PRP might win only Anakapalli seat, but it would indirectly help the grand alliance to bag at least three seats. However, the PRP is expected to establish clear leads in at least 15 out of the total number of 34 assembly segments, sources said.
The first phase polling in the State is over and different political parties and their affiliated dailies predicted that voters’ mandate went in their favour. They are making their own calculations based on their own source of information. Though internally they know in which way the voters’ verdict would be, they are putting up a brave face.
Sakshi, predictably, has predicted that the Congress would not get less than 100 assembly seats out of 154 which went to polling in the first phase. To support its stand, it highlighted the “victory celebrations” of the Congress workers at Gandhi Bhavan. Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy gave clear edge to Mahakootami. In fact, Eenadu’s banner headline “Maha Tadakha” speaks for itself. However, the highlight of the day was Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s controversial comment on Telangana during his Nandyal rally. It kicked up a wide debate all over the state and people are discussing whether YSR is justified in making such a statement. Especially his comment that the people of Rayalaseema would be treated as “foreigners” in Hyderabad if Telangana state is formed, is a clear indication to YSR’s strategy to provoke anti-Telangana sentiment in the other two regions and get maximum benefit to the Congress. But one would definitely ask why the Congress has promised formation of Telangana in its manifesto and even appointed a committee to look into it. It is yet to be seen whether his comments would be of any help to the Congress in the second phase.
Both Eenadu and Andhra Jyothy made every effort to project YSR in the bad light in the wake of his comment on Telangana; while Sakshi gave it a different twist, quoting YSR as questioning whether the Telugu Desam was treating the people of Rayaseema as foreigners by joining hands with the TRS. However, his speech, repeatedly being telecast in the channels, clearly shows that YSR was opposing the Telangana state.
All the dailies, however, have given full marks to Chief Electoral Officer I V Subba Rao and the police chief A K Mohanty for conducting a peaceful and by and large fair polling in the first phase.
The Praja Rajyam said it would win 70 Assembly and 12 Lok Sabha seats in the first phase of polls.
The PR vice-president, Mr T. Devender Goud, on Thursday night said: “We did extremely well in the first phase.
The results will be surprising. The PR would sweep the polls in Telangana and north Andhra regions, which went for elections in the first phase.”
Mr Goud was addressing a media conference in the PR’s central office Along with the PR spokesperson, Mr P. Mitra, in Hyderabad on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the BJP is hopeful of winning 13 Assembly and three Lok Sabha seats in the first phase of elections. The party leaders said BJP’s emergence as a Telangana icon has helped it.
The BJP spokesperson, Mr N. Rama Chandra Rao, said: “TRS sympathisers also voted for the BJP in Karimnagar and Mahbubnagar.
The overwhelming response is going to help us win good number of seats in Telangana region.”
April 16 (IANS) Over 65 percent of 31.2 million electors Thursday cast their votes in the first phase of elections in Andhra Pradesh where ballotting was held for 22 Lok Sabha and 154 assembly constituencies.
Barring minor incidents of violence, the polling remained peaceful. No radical leftwing violence was reported from any part of the state, once a stronghold of the Maoist movement in the country.
Polling ended at 4 p.m. However, in some polling booths officials allowed those standing in the queue to cast their votes even after the scheduled time.
The state’s Chief Electoral Officer I.V. Subba Rao told reporters this evening that polling was still on in 300 to 400 polling centres as authorities extended the timing in view of the delay caused in the morning due to technical snags in electronic voting machines (EVMs).
He said 65 percent of the 31.2 million voters, half of them women, cast their votes, sealing the fate of 2,148 candidates including 315 for the Lok Sabha.
The final poll percentage will be known after 9 p.m., he said.
The Medak Lok Sabha constituency recorded highest poll percentage of 75 while Hyderabad recorded the lowest at 54 percent.
“The polling was peaceful and smooth except for an incident in the Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha constituency,” he said.
Hyderabad and nine other districts in Telangana as well as three districts of north coastal Andhra bordering Orissa went to polls in the first phase.
The ruling Congress party and the four-party alliance led by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are locked in a neck-and-neck battle in the first phase. The Praja Rajyam Party of superstar Chiranjeevi is the third major political force.
Among the prominent Lok Sabha candidates are central ministers S. Jaipal Reddy, Renuka Chowdhury and D. Purandareswari, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhara Rao and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Bandaru Dattatreya.
In the Alampur assembly segment of the Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha constituency in Mahbubnagar district, villagers attacked polling stations and damaged EVMs. The polling had to be stopped in 17 polling centres. The incident occurred in Aiza area where people were protesting their inclusion in the Alampur constituency in the delimitation process.
Subba Rao said the matter was referred to the Election Commission, which will take a decision on re-poll in these booths.
Re-poll is also likely in a few other booths where the poll officials failed to operate EVMs as per the guidelines or committed some mistakes.
Clashes between activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) were reported in some places in the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency. There were reports of similar clashes between Congress and TDP activists in some constituencies. The polling, however, was not affected.
More than 60,000 policemen and 123 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed as part of the massive security arrangements.
Though the Maoist movement has considerably weakened in the state, police are on high alert, especially in areas bordering Chhattisgarh and Orissa.
Four helicopters were put on standby to ferry men and material as a precautionary measure but they were not used.
TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chiranjeevi and his family members, CEO Subba Rao, Director General of Police A.K. Mohanty and several others cast their votes in Hyderabad.
Popular actor and TDP star campaigner ‘Junior NTR’ came to a polling station on a stretcher and cast his vote. The star, who was injured in a road accident, reached the centre in an ambulance.
The second phase of polls April 23 will cover 20 Lok Sabha and 150 assembly constituencies in south coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
Counting will be taken up May 16.
Re-polling is likely to be held only in 20 polling stations, where polling could not be held either due to minor clashes or non-functioning of electronic voting machines.
Chief Electoral Officer I V Subba Rao said there was absolutely no disturbance from Maoists this time. Polling was suspended in 14 polling stations at Aiza village of Nagarkurnool LS constituency in Mahabubnagar district, as a large section of voters boycotted polling in protest against inclusion of the village in Alampur constituency. They clashed with other section of voters who were standing in queue for voting and destroyed the EVMs.
The fear of cross voting and confusion over electoral symbols now haunts all major political parties in the state. Reports gathered from party sources by the Congress, the Telugu Desam, the TRS and the Praja Rajyam on the voting pattern in 154 Assembly and 22 Lok Sabha constituencies indicate largescale cross voting in many districts.
The last minute alliance between the TD and the TRS confused voters over the electoral symbol. Both the TRS and the Td fielded candidates in several constituencies despite electoral alliances. In these places the symbols of both the parties, car (TRS) and cycle (TD) were printed on electronic voting machines.
In the Secunderabad Parliamentary constituency both the TD and the TRS candidates are in fray “officially”, though both are part of the Mahakutami or the political grand alliance. Voters who wanted to support the Mahakutami were confronted by car and cycle symbols, making it difficult for them to choose between the two. Since the state Assembly and Parliament elections are held simultaneously, political parties fear that voters might have supported different candidates for Assembly and LS seats. Reports from Warangal indicate that it was a Herculean task for the Mahakutami members to tell the voters to cast their votes for the TRS in Warangal (SC) Lok Sabha and CPI candidate in Mahbubabad (ST) Lok Sabha seats. In many places it resulted in a lot of confusion.
In Palakurthy constituency, many TD supporters cast their votes thinking that they were voting for the TD candidate Mr Errabelli Dayakar Rao. But as the first EVM was that of the Lok Sabha candidate, they had inadvertently voted for the TD’s rebel Lok Sabha candidate, Mr Dommati Sambaiah, who got the cycle symbol. And later, most of them voted for the Congress nominee thinking that they were voting for the Lok Sabha candidate. But it was the Assembly candidate, Mr Dugyala Srinivasa Rao, who they voted for.
There was similar confusion in Station Ghanpur where the TD’s candidate, Mr Kadiam Srihari, is contesting against the Congress nominee, Mr T. Rajaiah.
There was a time when Murali Mohan was rarely seen except for the roles that he did in movies. It has been said that he was more of a low profile person and preferred to stay away from limelight. However, all that has changed now and that too for some real good reasons.
Nowadays, Murali Mohan is coming on Zee Telugu dance shows, public dos, meets etc and has been speaking to the media quite often. Given the fact that he has got into politics, many say that Murali Mohan has realized the need to make his presence felt whenever possible.
Right now, he has got a keen fight on his cards on the 23rd when he takes on Undavalli Arun Kumar from one end and rebel star Krishnamraju from the other for the Rajahmundry Parliament seat. It appears that all this public appearances will help Murali Mohan generate some mileage.
When it comes to gossips and rumors on print media, it has always been known as yellow journalism but then a new definition is coming for it. While the debate is on about that, here is an interesting story that can perhaps define it in a better way.
It is known that Jr NTR has been recuperating from a serious accident. So there was an article that came in the Surya paper which said that this was the result of a Kshudra pooja that took place at Thrissur in Kerala, which we already reported. The process is said to be called Kalabhairava Aghora Pooja but then all this was labeled as ‘Yellow Journalism’ by those who opposed the Surya article.
However, there are those who say that it is not yellow journalism, it is creative journalism. Something similar happened in the Sakshi issue when they came up with the videos of Chandrababu Naidu and his statements on KCR. So folks, it is no more ‘Yellow Journalism’, it is ‘Creative Journalism’.
A person from Surya News Daily said off the record, “It is time where people need some idea to think and discuss. Almost all news dailies are working on the same. Sakshi, Eenadu, Andhra Jyothy or Surya…the motive happening to be same. Although some news happens to be false, it is thought provoking element that is required. Hence we cannot call every fiction, as yellow journalism. It is creative journalism”.
With so much happening in the PRP camp, many are breathing a sigh of relief that the elections have come or else one would not know what more things would have happened. The major aspect going against megastar Chiranjeevi and his party has been the dissidence factor from the rebels.
Things have taken a bad shape now with many from the Kapu community not happy with the way PRP has been functioning. News has been arriving from the strongest forte East Godavari where the Kapus are said to have developed an anti-feeling for the party and are looking at getting it defeated.
The reasons for all this are the rebels those failed to get tickets to contest. With the dissidence factor transforming into hatred, it must be said that Chiru is walking on a tight rope this time
Within a few minutes of completion of polling in Telangana region in the first phase on Thursday, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy made a controversial remark against separate Telangana state.
At an election rally in Nandyal on Thursday evening, YSR said it would be disastrous for Andhra settlers, if the Telangana was formed. “If the grand alliance wins this elections and forms Telangana state, settlers from Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in Hyderabad would become foreigners,” the Chief Minister said, obviously to hit the Telugu Desam below the belt in the non-Telangana regions, going to polls in the second phase on April 23.
TRS leader T Harish Rao said his party would complain to the Election Commission. “If it was YSR’s view and he had the courage to stand by it, he should have made this statement before the first phase polls. Making such statement after the polls shows his timidity and double standards, “he said
For quite few days onwards the fight between SAKSHI and EENADU reaches to worst case.
Both are commenting equally on both parties. People in andhra really fed up with both these news papers and they are interested to watch the Hindu or DC or times of india and few telugu papers Vaartha, Prabha are been watched by most viewers......
Look at the Sakshi paper comparison between YS vs BABU....
The truth is people lost there interest towards papers in Andhra...
Praja Rajyam Party president Chiranjeevi appears to have lost the track in his race to claim power in the elections.
Apparently coming to know that the chances of he ascending the CM’s throne are extremely bleak and that he would end up being the poor third, Chiranjeevi has gone dull in his election campaign and lost the sting in his speeches. He is just going about in a routine manner; sometimes, cancelling even two or three meetings. Right now, he is focussing all his energies in Coastal Andhra so that he can at least salvage his prestige by winning handsome number of seats.
Field reports say the PRP may not bag more than three or four seats in Telangana and another four or five seats in north coastal Andhra. The only hope for him is Godavari districts, but there, too, the Mahakootami is said be giving a tough fight. A sensitive person that he is, Chiranjeevi, is finding it difficult to swallow criticism. One has to se how he shapes up his future after the elections.
We have two major political parties, Congress and TDP. They each have undisputed leaders. One is YSR and the other is CBN. YSR says he will take full responsibility for the results, win or lose. Even though his party has a central command in New Delhi, he declares all his Assembly and Loksabha candidates 10 days before the nomination date and goes on a positive campaigning on his own. He dares people to compare what he has done in the past five years versus the nine year rule of TDP and CBN and decide who they want to vote for. He is the main campaigner for his party and he does not depend on any movie stars. He is the headlight and everyone else is a sidelight. In contrast, CBN kept on saying his party will win because of Nandamuri yuvasimhalu (eg Balayya, Jr NTR, Harikrishna, Kalyanram and Tarakaratna) and in the process he becomes a sidelight and others become the leading lights. It is a strange scenario where yuvasimhalu of Nandamuri clan guaranty the implementation of various schemes proposed by CBN. None of them even contest in elections and none would be part of a possible government, if TDP comes to power but they guarantee all the schemes. And it is even stranger when one thinks that they are guaranteeing a man who was Chief Minister of a state for nine years. And let me put this in a different way here again, some movie stars (one who shot his business partners in his home and claimed insanity not to go to jail, one who drove while drunk and got in to an accident, one who does not even have one hit movie in his career) guaranteeing us of a man, who comes in to a party and dethrones the founding father of that party and changes alliances and friends like dirty underwear on a daily basis!
Balayya keeps saying there is no Law & Order in the state. What he does not understand is that the same problem made him escape 20 years of jail when he shot Bellamkonda and co. But for Purandheswari, Balayya would have been campaigning amongst convicts of a central jail.
KCR has made lot of money from CBN to have an alliance with TDP. Then he sold TRS tickets to people who never even participated in the movement thinking that any dog will win in this sweep of Mahakutami. He thought he would make money, wins seats for himself, his son, and son-in-law and in the process he makes lot of money and he will have MLAs and MPs that would be faithful to him. He would become a Central Minister and his son would become Deputy CM. What a masterstroke right? But things have gone down the drain. Now he seems to be losing in Palamur along with his son in Sircilla. So KCR is a disappointed man as he only got money and not power. In the process, he is screwing TDP and CBN. CBN may go crazy after the elections and you are all advised not go any where near him.
Nandamuri yuvasimhalu (I do not know how they are but) keep talking about Vamsam, Paurusham & stuff. They keep claiming as if the state is their estate. Who gave them the right? After all these are the same people who back-stabbed NTR, made people thro cheppals at him and now claim heritage from him. Shameful behavior. Not a lot of people can do it. May be you need have these kind of qualities to become simhalu?
Every one knew CBN and Billy Rao were hand and glove. Only thing that happened with this sting operation of Billy Rao was that it was proved beyond doubt with a video. There is nothing new with CBN corruption and behavior.
Any guesses why TDP gave away a strong seat like Kukatpally to TRS? Kukatpally has 80% settlers from Andhra and out of which there are more than 60% kammas. How come TDP would allot the seat to TRS, which is known for settler bashing? Because there is plot for making Jayaprakash Narayana, who is kamma to win. Who made this deal? It is none other than our Picklesman, Ramoji Rao. But you know what? It wont happen and Congress will win in Kukatpally, as lot of non-kammas came to know of this plot.
Here is a riddle. For example (just an example – do not jump on me as how only Congress and TDP win all the seats), Congress and TDP wins 146 seats each in these elections and two seats go to Loksatta. Who do you think JP will support to form the government? He will support TDP and it is not because CBN is less corrupt or anything but because of caste. JP belongs to the same caste as CBN and CBN belongs to the same caste as Ramoji, who is the kingmaker with in that caste!
