YS Jagan Helicopter landing pics!!

YSR keeps in suspense?????

Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu's erstwhile personal secretary Vijaya Kumar, who has since defected to the camp of Chief Minsiter Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, is now on tenterhooks.

YSR has promised Vijaya Kumar to make him as the director of Sri Venkateshwara Bhakti Channel and even asked the officials concerned to issue orders to that effect. But, so far no orders were issued, much to the discomfiture of Vijaya Kumar.

Enquiries revealed that certain officials are objecting to the Chief Minister giving prominence to Vijaya Kumar, on the ground that how a person who did negative campaign against YSR could be given such a prominent post. They asked YSR to send Vijaya Kumar back to Information Department and wait for a few months to test his loyalty.

YSR reportedly agreed for the same and hence the delay!

Chiranjeevi prajaankitham in kukatpally

Rising and Falling in 2008

The year 2008 left its deep mark on our State. Swinging fortunes of these individuals have affected our political, economic, cultural and sports graphs. Deccan Post takes a look at rise and fall of a few prominent politicians, businessmen, film and sports celebrities during this period.

Gainers

Y S Rajasekhara Reddy
Normally, last year in power would always be a testing time for leader of the ruling party. But not for Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. He started off with a series of populist schemes such as Rs 2 a kg rice scheme and reimbursement of fees for Backward Class students that were instant hit. There was copious rainfall, which helped him continue free power supply scheme without any hassles; he inaugurated a few irrigation projects and laid foundation to a few others, as part of Jalayagnam.

Politically, YSR scored several points over his opponents: the Congress won six Assembly seats, including five seats represented by Telangana Rashtra Samithi and he could establish before the Congress high command that it was a positive vote for his government and that there is not much Telangana sentiment. At the same time, he could successfully silence his critics within the party. In spite of Chiranjeevi factor and upsurge of the Opposition parties, YSR is entering the New Year with a positive and optimistic note.

N Chandrababu Naidu
For Telugu Desam president and Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, the year 2008, too, has been very positive. At a time when everybody thought the TD was down and out, Naidu resurrected the party with his sheer fighting spirit, notwithstanding large-scale exodus of leaders and cadres into Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party. His party sprang surprise among political pundits by winning four Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat.

Naidu's biggest achievement has been bringing unity among the Opposition parties. Though he failed to sustain the UNPA as a third alternative, he could successfully convince the Left parties to join hands with him and lay foundation for a third front. By declaring his unstinted support to the Telangana demand, Naidu could not only consolidate his vote bank in Telangana, but also attract Telangana Rashtra Samithi into the third front camp. What is more, he could also bring together all the family members of his father-in-law N T Rama Rao and get their support to TD. By and large, Naidu is optimistic of a great revival for him and TD in the New Year.

G Mallikarjuna Rao
The global meltdown notwithstanding, 58-year old Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, chairman of GMR group, has made it big news this year by ranking 198th rank in the world's richest list by Forbes and 14th on the India Rich list.

The inauguration of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, constructed by GMR group, has put Mallikarjuna Rao on the top and made Andhra Pradesh proud. Various other infrastructure projects taken up by his group in the State and different parts of the country, including modernization of Delhi airport, are in full swing.

An avid sports lover, Mallikarjuna Rao also made it to news by promoting Delhi Dare Devils team in the Indian Premier League's T-20 cricket tourney in April-June this year. The franchise team has reached the semi-finals in the tournament.

Saina Nehwal
Andhra Pradesh's badminton sensation Saina Nehwal has created a big name for herself this year. At a time when all other sportspersons were drawing blank at the Beijing Olymics this year, 18-year old Nehwal went up to quarter-finals and came within a few points of scoring a medal. Though she lost in the quarters, she was acknowledged as India's best performing woman badminton player ever.

As the year is coming to an end, Saina created yet another sensation in the World Super Series Masters tournament in Malaysia. She reached semi-finals and was almost on the verge of finals, when she lost the crucial game. Yet, she earned a lot of laurels for AP and the country.

Duvvuri Subba Rao
The year 2008 saw yet another Telugu man making it to the hot seat. Fifty-seven year old Duvvuri Subba Rao, finance secretary of India, replaced another Telugu man Yaga Venugopal Reddy as 22nd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India on September 1, 2008.

The 1972-batch IAS officer from Andhra Pradesh cadre has taken the charge at a time when the country's economy was in a bad shape. Subba Rao immediately announced a series of corrective measures such as bringing down of repo rate and making banks to reduce interest rates on home loans. He is expected to focus on many other fiscal reforms to see that economy goes back on tracks in the coming months.

Losers

B Ramalinga Raju
The year 2008 might have begun on a positive note for Satyam group chairman B Ramalinga Raju, but as it comes to a close, he has lost his face completely. The crash in software industry across the globe has had a serious effect on Satyam group, so much so that Ramalinga Raju desperately tried to safeguard his and his family's interests through backdoor methods.

His attempt to take over his son's Maytas group in a non-transparent way triggered wild protests from the shareholders and he was compelled to beat a retreat. The share value of Satyam has gone down and so was the image of Ramalinga Raju. What is worse, the World Bank has imposed a seven-year ban on Satyam, alleging that the latter had resorted to fraudulent methods in extending software services to the Bank.

The latest news is that he might step down as Satyam chief or might even be sacked.

K Chandrasekhara Rao
For Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao, the year 2008 proved to be a very bad year. His attempt to repeat the 2006 experiment boomeranged , as his party lost nine seats to the Congress and Telugu Desam in the by-elections he had thrust upon the people of Telangana. KCR himself managed to scrape through in bypoll to Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat with a meager 15,000 votes majority, compared to more than 2 lakh votes he got in 2006. And KCR blamed it on the people of Telangana and even offered to step down as TRS president..

Because of his poor political strategies, KCR has lost the advantage of being the champion of Telangana cause. The issue has been hijacked by all other parties – Nava Telangana Party, Telugu Desam, CPI and even newly formed Praja Rajyam Party of Chiranjeevi. Now, KCR is desperately looking for an alliance with TD-Left combine or PRP to retain his identity.

Ramoji Rao
Media moghul of Andhra Pradesh Cherukuri Ramoji Rao faced the toughest of times in his life during the concluding year 2008. On the media front, his Eenadu daily has faced a major challenge from Sakshi, launched by Chief Minister's son Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The circulation of Eenadu has dwindled over the last few months and it has lost its No. 1 position to Sakshi. The image of Ramoji Rao took further beating when his younger son Suman revolted against him and gave an interview to Sakshi, alleging that his father had unceremoniously sacked him from ETV.

On the business front, Ramoji Rao faced a lot of humiliations. He was summoned to IT department, where he was grilled for several hours without being offered a seat, on the Margadarsi issue. If everything goes YSR way, Ramoji Rao might even face imprisonment, it is learnt.

Sania Mirza
All was not well with Hyderabadi tennis star Sania Mirza in 2008. The year began on a controversial note for Sania, when she was photographed barefooted before the national flag. She even went to the extent of saying that she considered quitting the sport because of undue controversy surrounding her actions. Later, she kicked up another controversy, when she said she would stop appearing in tennis tournaments held in India, starting with the 2008 Bangalore Open in March, citing the series of controversies.

Sania was ranking 32 in the beginning of the year, when she played the Australian open, but subsequently, her rank has started going down and she is now ranking above 100. She did not play many tournaments thereafter and got eliminated in the initial rounds itself in Wimbledon and Olympics. The saving grace for Sania at the fag end of the year is that she awarded Doctorate by Chennai University.

Ramgopal Verma
Ace film director-producer Ramgopal Verma, who left Tollywood for good and was making films only in Bollywood, virtually drew a blank at the box office this year.

All his films, starting from Sarkar Raj to Aag to Phoonk failed to draw crowds to theatres, despite his tall claims. He tried to make a return to Telugu film industry, albeit indirectly, through "Raksha," remake of Phoonk, based on Telugu novelist Yandamuri Veerandranath's novel, but, it, too, fared badly at the box office.

As if adding to his miseries, Ramgopal Verma hit the headlines for wrong reasons: he accompanied former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh to Taj Hotel, which was attacked by terrorists on November 26. Deshmukh had to pay the penalty for it by resigning from his post.

K-K war

Its time for cast war in costal belt!!! coming into the scene.......

Radhakrishna's entry has given a boost to the PRP which was facing a leadership crisis in the district to counter the onslaught of Kammas.

At present, Kamma community in Krishna and Guntur districts are sailing with the Congress – whether it is Devineni Rajasekhar or Lagadapati Rajagopal, Kavuri Sambasiva Rao or Rayapati brothers. On the other hand, Kapu community backing Chiranjeevi was looking for a powerful leader to lead them from front. Thus, Radha taking the lead will give them the required energy.

The battle would be interesting now, as both the communities are financially powerful and politically active. Though Lagadapati has brushed aside Radha's defection to PRP, the Kammas would have to rework their strategies to keep up their domination, say political observers.

Chiry still prefers KCR !!

Inspite of making overtures to Praja Rajyam party president Chiranjeevi, Nava Telangana Party president T Devender Goud is a disappointed man.

For, Chiranjeevi has still kept his doors open for Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhara Rao. The PRP president feels that TRS is still a strong force in Telangana and no party can ignore the percentage of votes it polled in the recent byelections. What is more, the recent bypoll to MLC seat in north Telangana has proved beyond doubt that majority of the educated youth and employees are still with the TRS. So, Chiru asked his core committee members to continue dialogue with KCR and others.

This has naturally upset Devender Goud, who is expecting handful of seats in the seat sharing with NTP in the next elections. If Chiru prefers TRS, then it will be curtains for NTP. That is the reason why Goud is becoming impatient and irritating.

Puli Part time!!!

Yuvarajjam "Puli" Power Star Pawan Kalyan has been riding high with the success of his film 'Jalwa' and right now he is busy with the making of his film 'Komaram Puli' with the Tamil film maker S J Suryah. On the other hand, he has recently taken up the new role as the head of the Yuvarajyam, the youth wing of Praja Rajyam Party.


Now, this has triggered a talk amongst many as to how best can Pawan do justice to his two roles. The truth is, if someone has to come into politics and do something for the welfare of the public then it requires full dedication and commitment along with the service oriented mentality.

So if Pawan is busy with his films and then makes in a part time contribution to his role as a leader then the question is obvious among the public as to how would he be in a position to bring a change to the society and the lives of the people. Well this is something that needs to be answered…

Is YSR trying to fool Opposition?

In a surprising development, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy told his Cabinet colleagues on Wednesday that there is no question of holding elections before April and that they would be held as schedule. He also made it clear that even the Lok Sabha elections would not be advanced and that there would be simultaneous polls to the Assembly and Lok Sabha. He asked the ministers to gear up themselves to face the elections and run down the Opposition parties.

The development was surprising because initially, YSR preferred an early election to the Assembly in the wake of positive results for the Congress in Delhi and Rajasthan. He wanted that the Opposition parties should not be given enough time to gain strength and even before they consolidate their forces, the government should go for polls.

Sources say it could be YSR's strategy to fool the Opposition by saying that the polls could be held in April. He is of the view that the Telugu Desam and Praja Rajyam party, which are working out intense strategies to attack the Congress, might tend to go a bit relaxed now and take it easy for some time on alliances and seat sharing. And when they go into a relaxed mood, the government can announce elections, taking them by surprise. That would give them little time to prepare for polls!

"Chiru should grow stronger says" YSR

Believe it or not, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy wants Praja Rajyam party chief Chiranjeevi to grow stronger and stronger.

YSR is learnt to have told his close confidants that the stronger Chiranjeevi becomes, the better it is for the Congress. According to the surveys conducted by YSR's team, Telugu Desam party is still strong in many constituencies and if proper strategies are not adopted, it might create serious troubles for the Congress. The margin between the Congress and TD in as many as 90 constituencies would be so thin that anything might happen at any time.

So, YSR feels if Chiranjeevi's party becomes stronger, it would eat into the TD votes and the Congress would scrape through in such constituencies having close finish. That is the reason why YSR is keeping silent on defections into PRP in certain constituencies. What a strategy!

Hope lost on CM?

Right now the current talk is going on in Praja Rajyam party circles is that megastar Chiranjeevi has almost lost hope on becoming the next Chief Minister.

Eversince the Congress emerged victorious in the Assembly elections in Delhi and Rajasthan recently, Chiranjeevi has not been very optimistic about his party's performance in the next elections. Though he has not expressed his feeling publicly, he is learnt to have told his close confidants that the party should better focus on 2014 elections, rather than 2009 elections. He was of the view that unless the party's organization is built up strongly, it is not possible to come to power. He was pinning hopes on the Communist parties, but the latter preferred to sail with TD, which is getting stronger and stronger.

So, shoulders are dropping for Chiru; and it is good omen for Y S Rajasekhara Reddy!

Rajni Kanth mark dialogue to KCR !!

There is a dialogue from Rajani Kanth's movie, "Athigaa aasapade magadu athigaa aaveshapade aadadhi bagu padinatlu charitralo ledu". This dialogue suits for KCR now, say Telengana people.

His frequent switch over of parties made him less reliable and weak in the eyes of Telengana population. Above all, the movement that was popularized by him is now taken away by Devender Goud, Vijayashanthi and many others as well. Almost everyone is chanting 'Separate Telangana Mantra' now which has clowned KCR.

Is KCR an intelligent leader? Or a man who is being driven in the air of politics? These are the questions sprouting in the heads of Telangana people.

KCR ki Tension And Babu ki Worried

KCR is now an old fox who is soothing his wounds by taking the support of TDP. He is very sensitive now and reacting wildly on media as well. He has expressed his disgust on media stating that the stories are being cooked up on him by some media sources those are not inclined towards PRP, TRS alliance.

He says that gossips are being spread on him stating that he took classes for PRP leaders. KCR now feels that media is gluing red chilly powder for his wounds.

On the other hand it is said that Chandrababu is also worried for PRP-TRS alliance. He is in doubt that all these alliances would confuse people and finally end up in doldrums and utter confusion and benefit Congress

One Great Evening with NBK

YSR DOUBLE HAPPY!!!

With the over come of results from the five states and the most happeist man in the Congress is none other than our Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.

YSR is learnt to be of the view that AP would also repeat the Delhi results, provided the Congress high command would leave it to him the selection of candidates in the elections. "There are a lot of similarities between Delhi and AP. In both the States, there is no dissidence in the party and no alternative leadership to the existing CMs. In Delhi, Shiela Dixit was given full freedom. If YSR, too, is given freedom, he would work wonders," sources close to him said.

The Chief Minister is confident that the high command would not dare to go against his wishes; since it would prove counter productive. Like in Delhi, the Opposition is not so strong in AP and more over, it is divided. "If it is a vote for development in Delhi, then, it would be the same in AP," he observed.

A very rare Laughing Treat By Pawan Kalyan

Yuvarajjam PRP leader Pawan Kalyan may be the most talented stars in the Telugu industry and he might also hold the maximum appeal among the youth but then it is very rarely seen that he shares a smile with the media or the public and has often been quite aloof with the rest of the folks. However, all of them were in for a big shock from Pawan yesterday.

It was during his official induction into the Praja Rajyam Party when Pawan was all smiles and one could feel that he was quite delighted with himself. Later, he was also seen speaking warmly with the media and other folks and this surely has come across as a surprise package for many.

Meanwhile, there are those who have been keen to know what happened to the CMPF (Common Man Protection Force) that Pawan had set up quite some time back and till date there is not a single piece of news about it. Now, with this new role of his, let us wait and see how effective he is.

YSR Got Identity With Sureedu or Surreedu got identity with YSR?

Folks here is one man who has been like a shadow to the Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy and it is getting very hard to imagine the CM without this man by his side. Almost every cartoon of YSR in News Papers is being identified with grey haired Sureedu behind him.

His name is Sureedu and though he is not educated or speaks to the media, sources say that he is the most trusted lieutenant for YS and under the CM's shadow, Sureedu is said to have amassed wealth up to 100 crores. He is also the first point of contact if the senior VVIPs need a favor. Sureedu's association with YS has become so prominent that even cartoons in newspapers see them together.

Given this situation, it has now become obvious that YS has got a special identity of sorts with Sureedu and for all those around him, they know that the key to approach YS in a rather subtle way is to impress Sureedu first and then get to the main person.

Family entertainer party!!

look like Praja Rajyam party president Chiranjeevi is under tremendous pressure to remove the impression among the people that his party is a family outfit. The appointment of Pawan Kalyan as the youth wing president of PRP on Sunday has confirmed these charges.

Chiranjeevi ,however, is trying his best to rebut these allegations. He said Pawan Kalyan was really committed to social justice and had been actively involved in people's programmes. It was the people's wish that he would take active part in politics. Secondly, Aravind was more like a friend than his brother-in-law and had been his backbone all these days. So, there is nothing wrong in involving them in the party affairs, he said.

Notwithstanding his clarifications, the allegations continue to gain ground. Already, it has gained the image of being a Kapu party, because most of those who occupied top slots in the party belong to this community. In the coming days, Chiranjeevi is likely to appoint his brother-in-law Allu Aravind as party general secretary and brother Naga Babu as campaign committee incharge. And that would lead to further criticism.

Power star is the No 2 in PRP

So what ever the AP people expecting the same thing happened today and that announcement of no 2 in the PRP. Younger brother Pawan Kalyan is going to be No. 2 in Praja Rajyam party. He is all set to become the president of "Yuva Rajyam," the youth wing of PRP.

Though Pawan Kalyan has been indirectly controlling the party affairs, there were doubts over his exact role in the party. While some leaders and activists were approaching Naga Babu and others Allu Aravind on various issues including joining the PRP or taking up membership drive, they were still in confusion as there was no role clarity.

Now, Chiranjeevi made it clear and official. By declaring Pawan Kalyan as youth wing chief, he sent a signal that he would be directly officiating the party affairs, when he is out of the state capital.

So, friends, approach the "Pujari" first before praying the "God"!

TRS and TDP dosti dosti in TDP Bhavan...

After a gap of nearly seven and a half years, Telangana Rashtra Samithi leaders stepped into NTR Bhavan, the headquarters of Telugu Desam.

Though TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao himself did not go to the TD office, he sent his deputies led by B Vinod Kumar and they were received well by the TD leaders. Some of them, who were earlier part of the TD, felt nostalgic, as they entered the NTR Bhavan. They felt that it all looked like homecoming. Later, the TRS leaders attended a meeting held by TD and the Communists on the Babli issue.

The TRS has more or less decided to join hands with the TD and Saturday's meeting brought them further closer. The moot question is whether it would benefit both the parties.

Betrayal behind lies NTR Atma Garjana

CD titled NTR Atma Garjana containing NTR’s statements on the coup that led to his dethronement in 1995 and the betrayal and treachery of the Telugu Desam president, Mr Chandrababu Naidu, was distributed in the Assembly lobbies on Wednesday.

The CD contained a video presentation of the former chief minister’s last interview and his appearance in a TV show. In the CD, NTR exposed Mr Naidu to the hilt by narrating the coup that led to his dethronement in 1995.

Criticising Mr Naidu of "betrayal and well planned treachery," NTR asked the people to realise the truth. He also pointed out his popular welfare schemes which were later either scrapped or modified during Mr Chandrababu Naidu’s regime.

Chiru may contest from Hindupur!!!

Chiranjeevi’s hopes of winning over masses in Nellore and Chittoor districts in his fourth leg of ‘Praja Ankita Yatra’ could have been dashed following the AP High Court’s stay on roadshows.

But, pressure is mounting on him to test his luck from Anantapur district in the coming elections as Prajarajyam Party workers and his fans believe that he would storm the TDP bastion in the 2009 polls.

Sources said their euphoria was very much in tune with the tremendous response the PRP chief had received during his yatra in the Rayalaseema heartland, particularly in NT Ramarao’s stronghold of Hindupur, which had returned the TDP founder to the state assembly three times.