Political Diary

These days Lok Satta members are sending out e-mails seeking more volunteers to help in campaigning in Hyderabad. Possibly this dearth of
volunteers has disabled the party from taking any action against its errant functionaries such as C Purnachandra Rao. Rao’s misbehaviour with women scribes during party boss Jayaprakash Narayan’s tour to Nellore was reported in these columns last week. Attached to the media cell of the fledgling party, Rao’s obscene behaviour with women scribes who had accompanied Narayan had left them shocked. In legal terms, Rao’s behaviour can qualify as an outrage against a woman’s modesty. But Jayaprakash Narayan has not reacted to the matter and even remained unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts made by this newspaper on April 1 and earlier. The party’s Jubilee Hills constituency candidate G Pratibha Rao, when asked, as a woman what she had to say, said action would have been taken if there was truth in the allegation. “I did not bother to check on the matter since I did not think there was much substance in the allegation. It was concocted,’’ she said. The reaction of the woman candidate comes as a shock to the victims of Purnachandra Rao’s behaviour, one of whom is a TOI scribe herself. “Taking action against the man (Purnachandra Rao) wouldn’t harm the party but if they don’t, it shows they have something to hide,’’ said one victim, adding that Lok Satta now being a mainstream national party should have acted more responsibly and live up to the clean image it created for itself. Women activists say they are aghast at Jayaprakash Narayan’s stoic silence on the matter. But say that his inaction is not surprising. “There has never been any comment by the Lok Satta party on violence against women such as the recent acid attack cases,’’ says Usha Rani, director of Sanhitha, a resource and research centre for women. She said that Jayaprakash Narayan has in the past spoken only about corruption. “At least now he should have commented on whether or not any action has been taken,’’ Usha Rani said. Women rights activist, K Anuradha of Aman Vedica, that works on issues of justice for women and children, too said that JP needs to know that corruption is not about bribes and money dealings alone and manifests itself in many other forms. “How will women feel comfortable with the party ?’’ she wondered. Police officials of the Women Protection Cell said that such behaviour (as committed by Purnachandra Rao) was punishable with imprisonment for up to twoyears or a fine or both under Section 354 of IPC, which is an attempt to outrage the modesty of a woman.

Grand alliance partners - TDP, TRS and the Left parties - are set to fight one another in at least 15 assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies as most of the candidates fielded from there by the respective parties remained in the fray as the last date for withdrawal of nominations for the first phase of polling on April 16 ended on Thursday evening. While Secunderabad and Warangal are the Lok Sabha seats in which both TDP and TRS candidates are in the fray, the assembly seats where they are clashing include Karwan, Kukatpally, Uppal, Patancheru, Maheshwaram, Suryapet, Sangareddy, Dornakal, Warangal (East), Huzurnagar, Mahbubnagar, Sircilla, Parakala, Bhoopalapalli, Mancherial, Yellareddy, Nizamabad (Urban), Peddapalli, Manthani and Chennur. In Secunderabad LS constituency, which has been allotted to the TRS, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu painted TRS candidate M D Mohammed Mahmood Ali as a weak one and roped in Srinivasa Sudish Rambhotla as his nominee. Rambhotla told TOI on Thursday evening that there were no instructions from the TDP president to withdraw. The TDP and the TRS are also set to clash in the city assembly constituencies like Karwan, Kukatpally, Uppal and Maheshwaram. In Maheshwaram, which has been allotted to the TRS, the TDP has put up T Krishna Reddy against K Prabhakar Reddy. However, TDP’s Kukatpally nominee P L Srinivas withdrew from the contest on Thursday. Rebel candidate P Vijaya, daughter of former Congress MLA P Janardhan Reddy, was initially said to have backed out of the race from Serilingampally assembly segment, but Rangareddy district officials clarified on Thursday night that she is still in the contest. Mana Party’s Kasani Gyaneshwar, who has an alliance with the Prajarajyam Party, is in the fray from Chevella Lok Sabha constituency as well as for the Qutubullapur assembly seat where he would clash with PRP’s Jeevender Reddy. Similarly, PRP’s Rajpal Reddy and Mana Party’s Md Umar Ali Arshad Shafi are set to take on one another in the Rajendernagar assembly segment. Among the other withdrawals, TDP nominee M N Srinivasa Rao pulled out from Musheerabad assembly constituency where TRS’ Nayani Narasimha Reddy is the official alliance candidate. The TRS withdrew its candidate, Shobhan Babu Mothe, from Secunderabad in favour of TDP’s T Srinivas Yadav and from Yakutpura, it pulled out Md Abdul Salam Sharafan, again in favour of the TDP. In the Congress, rebel candidate V Narayana Reddy pulled out of the race from Malakpet assembly segment. Alliance partners TDP and CPM are clashing in Patancheru and Dornakal assembly constituencies allotted to the CPM while the TRS and CPI are set to clash in Husnabad which has been given to the latter. On its part, the CPM has not pulled out its candidates from Station Ghanpur and Sattenpally which have been given to the TDP. At least 10 rebel TRS candidates remained in the fray including from Manakondur, Alair, Sircilla, Qutubullapur, Wardhannapet, Warangal (West), Parkal, Bhoopalapalli, Manakondur and Ramagundum assembly constituencies. The only TRS rebel candidate who withdrew is M Varalaxmi from Sangareddy. In all, there were 71 withdrawals for the 22 Lok Sabha seats and 660 withdrawals for 154 assembly seats going for the polls in the first phase, leaving 305 LS candidates and 1833 assembly candidates in the fray. With the nomination phase having been over, leaders of the various parties have now embarked on their gruelling campaigns.

The model code violation by Y S Rajasekhara Reddy got murkier on Thursday with police denying that permission was given for his public meeting at the open ground adjacent to a government school in Balkonda on Wednesday. Speaking to TOI, Armoor DSP M Hatiram made it clear that no permission was given either to gather masses in the open place or organise a meeting. “The local Congress leaders diverted the CM’s convoy into the village from NH-7 to take a left turn. But there was no permission to hold the meeting as Section 144 was clamped on the school premises since SSC exams were being held,” he said. Meanwhile, officials have picked holes in the police claims, saying: How did the cops allow sound system on the school premises if prohibitory orders had already been clamped?

The opposition parties may have branded him the richest politician on earth but chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy by his own admission has been reduced from a crorepati to a lakhpati in the last five years he ruled the state. From Rs 3,02,56,662 his asset value shrunk to a mere Rs 33,33,365 in the last five years according to the affidavit Reddy has filed along with his nomination papers for the Pulivendula assembly constituency in Kadapa district on Thursday. His wife Vijayalaxmi's assets too have witnessed a fall in the same period but to a minor extent: from Rs 1,23,95,321 to Rs 1,01,43,122. According to the chief minister's affidavit, he has only Rs 12,379 in cash, Rs 1,93,797 in bank deposits and savings of Rs 2,43,848. He holds shares and bonds worth Rs 1000 in AP Steels Limited and Rs 1000 in Leasefin India. He possesses gold and diamonds worth Rs 13,03,770. His income through claims and interest is Rs 2,02,256. Reddy holds 39.52 acres of agricultural land in his native Idupulapaya worth Rs 4,78,065 and a residential building in Pulivendula worth Rs 8,97,250. He does not own a car nor does he have any loans or dues, the affidavit says. His wife has Rs 31,069 in cash, two bank deposits worth Rs 40 lakh and Rs 4,54,663 shares in Saraswati Power worth Rs 35.25 lakh, gold and diamonds worth Rs 10,57,890 and secures an income of Rs 10,74, 500 through claims and interests. She does not own any agricultural land or a car. All this is as per the 2009 estimates.

NTR.Jr who was injured in major accident on Ugadi festival day is recovering in KIMS hospital. He was shifted from ICU to special ward. he is feeling better after physiotherapy treatment today. As for the sources from TDP, NTR.Jr will be discharged from the hospital on 5th April and he would join the TSP poll campaign from 10th of April. It is great relief to TDP which is mainly depending on star campaigning of NTR.Jr.

Ending his practice of launching his election campaigns from Tirupati, the Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday kicked off his Vijaya Shankaravam rally from Medchal in Ranga Reddy district. Mr Naidu chose Medchal after his astrologers suggested that he launch the campaign from a place northeast of the city to capture power.
Medchal is in northeast corner of the Ranga Reddy district. According to Vaa-stu pundits and astrologers, the northeast is generally considered auspicious for launching works. “Those who want to occupy power have to begin their work from the northeast,” said Mr Srinivasa Gargeya, asthana pundit of Kurtallam Siddeshwari Peetham and adviser to Mr Naidu.
“That is why Mr Naidu launched the campaign from Medchal, which is in the northeast corner of Ranga Reddy district.” Earlier, at a press conference to release the party manifesto, Mr Naidu appea-led to everyone to call the party as “Telugu Desam” — which this newspaper has been doing all along — and not “Telugu Desam Party,” as the rest of the media does.
“Please don’t use TDP while writing reports. It’s my personal request,” he remarked. He refused to say why, but a senior TD leader said it could be due to advice by an astrologer. None of this, however, could get the crowd to watch Mr Naidu inaugurate his poll tour at Medchal. He also had a poor turnout at Serilingampally but there was a fairly packed crowd at Chevella, which had given a tepid response to Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy earlier this week.
The poor turnout for Mr Naidu’s meeting was attributed to the heat and improper planning. When Mr Naidu arrived at Medchal, there were hardly 1,000 people in the open ground and an equal number took shelter under every available sliver of shade nearby. As Mr Naidu drove in, TD leaders pleaded with those sheltering under the shadows to come to the ground, but they stayed put. Mr Naidu, wearing four khandwas representing the TD, TRS, CPI(M) and the CPI, tried to raise the spirits of the meagre crowd saying the heatwave had hit the people but they would stand by the Mahakutami.
Said an elderly Lakshmamma, “They are spending so much money, they could have installed shamiana. How can we stand under the scorching sun?” On the way to the next public meeting near Miyapur crossroads in Serilingampally Assembly seat, the convoy stopped for Mr Naidu to have lunch with some supporters

The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notices to the Election Commission and the Praja Rajyam on allotting the rail engine symbol to the Chiranjeevi party. The Supreme Court was dealing with a petition filed by the Uttar Pradesh-based Rashtriya Krantikar Samajwadi Party, which objected to the allotment of the rail engine symbol to the Praja Rajyam. The apex court bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice P. Sathasivam, ask-ed for the Election Com-mission’s reply and posted the matter to April 9, just a week before the first phase of polls in the state.
The UP party had appro-ached the apex court on Wednesday stating that it had contested the 2004 el-ections with the rail engine symbol. It said it planned to contest seats in AP and opt for that symbol again.However, it has not filed nominations in the first phase. The PR has made light of the UP party’s contention. “Since it is not a recognised party, it has not got a reserved symbol. So their claim doesn’t have any value,” said Mr P. Prabha-kar, the PR spokesperson

Wearing yellow, pink and red scarves of Telugu Desam, TRS and Left parties, TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu launched the party’s campaign here, highlighting Cash Transfer Scheme and colour TVs and mounting vitriolic attack on Congress. Addressing his first public meeting here after blowing the conch to signal the launch, Mr. Naidu asked the people to respond by clapping if they believed and approved the party’s two flagship schemes. There was thunderous applause instantly.
“Congress which derides these as impracticable should hear this applause. I have been the longest serving Chief Minister and I know how to implement them. Vote out Congress.”TDP’s candidate from Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency Bhimsen and the Medchal Assembly segment’s Prakash Goud and the local TRS and the Left party leaders stood beside him atop the van from which he addressed the meeting.
Mr. Naidu drew enthusiastic response from people who attended, braving the scorching heat. “The response is the first signal of our return to power,” he said while explaining the benefits of the CTS and colour TV. “ The CTS will supplement your monthly income and take care of your wards’ education while you can update your knowledge by watching TV.”
He went on to ask the people not to buy colour TVs and wait for a month or so to get them free when TDP returns to power. The party has also lined up several other schemes in its manifesto, covering all sections of people. Whenever Telugu Desam was in power it dedicated itself to the welfare of poor, he said.Ill-gotten wealth
The Congress government, during the last five years, indulged in corrupt activities plundering the State’s wealth and resources. Every scheme it launched was steeped in corruption. “It was with ill-gotten wealth that the Congress planned to buy leaders of other parties and the voters. Do not fall prey to such inducements. Your future will become dark.”

Training his guns against PR president K. Chiranjeevi during his election campaign, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on Wednesday said that politics is not a two hour cinema. Addressing road side gatherings at Ramayampet and Toopran, Mr. Rajasekhara Reddy wondered how the PR president could oppose huge irrigation projects which would improve the conditions of agriculture.

The Telugu Desam president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday unveiled his mega manifesto which promises all things under the sun from free cash and colour television sets to a separate state. Other highlights of the manifesto are job protection for IT employees facing trouble, a tribunal to punish corrupt politicians, creation of 50 lakh jobs in five years, 12-hour free power to farmers, and five-day week for government employees among others.
To revive his image as a man of the masses, Mr Naidu promised to revise the pension of retired government employees depending on their age. Those who are 100 years old will get 100 per cent additional pension. Similarly, poor senior citizens aged between 60 and 65 will get a minimum pension of Rs 500 per month and those aged above 85 will get Rs 1,000 per month.
“This is the best election manifesto in the country,” said the TD chief. “It is unique.” Mr Naidu, however, ignored the party founder, Mr N.T. Rama Rao’s pet scheme of prohibition but promised to eradicate belt shops. He vigorously rebutted the Congress and Praja Rajyam allegations that his promises could not be implemented and said they would easily fit into the Rs 1 lakh crore budget of the state.
“The Congress is scared of our promises,” he said after releasing the manifesto at NTR Trust Bhavan.The TD is banking heavily on the cash transfer scheme that promises to pay Rs 2,000, Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,000 to poor and middle class families on the first of every month like a salary. The TD chief justified the colour TV scheme by saying that the elite had six to seven TV sets in their house including one in the bathroom.“Let the poor also enjoy their evenings,” he said. Further, Mr Naidu announced an integrated NTR health scheme, a modified version of the Arogyasri, but one which covers more diseases. Mr Naidu also assured Rs 1,000 per head as unemployment dole for the youth, and free education to backward class students from first standard to post-graduate level.

Praja Rajyam party today evening announced its sixth list of party candidates. Here is the list of some interesting candidates and their rival candidates. Chiranjeevi-Palakollu (Assembly); Krishnam Raju-Rajhamundry(Assembly) v/s Murali Mohan(TDP) v/s Undavalli Arun Kumar(cong); Posani Krishna Murali-Chilakaluri peta, (Assembly); Ch.Gangi Reddy-Puliventhula (Assembly) v/s Chief Minister YS. Rajashekar Reddy; VVS.Chowdary-Mandapeta(Assembly); Kottapalli Subba Raidu; Narsapuram(Assembly); P.Laxmi Narayana-Hindupuram; Kotagiri Vidyadara Rao-Ungatooru(Assembly) Tupakula Manemma-Kovur(Assembly).

The delimitation factor and the Congress imposing ‘outsiders’ in several constituencies have combined to brew a lethal combination for the ruling party. By preliminary estimates, in at least 50 assembly and half-a-dozen Lok Sabha constituencies, the local leaders and their followers have decided to ensure the defeat of the official Congress nominees. In most of these constituencies, the Congress has sidelined local leaders who have worked in the area for years and instead, given tickets to rank outsiders who in many cases are not even members of the party. “Therefore, unlike the rebel who contests as an independent against the official candidate, our leaders are not contesting the polls, but silently working for the defeat of the official Congress nominees,” one leader said. One reason for plotting the defeat of the official candidates is that if the outsider nominee does manage to win, then he would claim that the seat as his own in the future elections. “The only way we can ensure that our leader gets back the seat is to defeat the official candidate,” said followers of a leader from the city who has been denied a ticket for the assembly. Take the Shadnagar assembly seat, the Congress has nominated Pratap Reddy, who is hardly known in the party circles, while denying the ticket to K Srinivas Goud, a staunch party worker and a sarpanch of Kottur village. Goud and his men are working for the defeat of Pratap. “Shadnagar is basically a BC-dominated seat. If Pratap Reddy wins, in the future, he would have the first right to stake claim to the seat and our leader and the BCs would have to forget contesting,” Goud’s followers said. Similarly, the Congress has thrust outsiders in the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha constituency and Ambarpet assembly seats. While Sitting Siddipet MP Sarve Satyanarayana has been fielded from the Malkajgiri LS seat, minister Md Fareeduddin has been moved from Medak to the Amberpet assembly constituency. “While there may be other reasons for pitting Fareeduddin, a weak outsider, against BJP’s G Kishan Reddy, disappointed local aspirants and their followers in both the seats are fiercely against the official candidate’s victory,” said a leader. Rajya Sabha MP and veteran city leader V Hanumantha Rao (VHR) had tried very hard for the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat. However, he was unsuccessful. Sources said VHR does not want to contribute a bit to the victory of these two candidates and has reportedly turned down many telephone requests from chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to campaign for Fareeduddin in Amberpet, a seat where the MP lives and wields enormous clout. In the Telangana region, local Congress leaders are said to be working for the defeat of official Sircilla assembly seat nominee G Manjula, who defected from the TDP recently. For Husnabad assembly, the Congress has fielded Pravin Reddy of Husnabad who is hardly known to local leaders. For the Nalgonda LS seat, the Congress has nominated G Sukhender Reddy over DCC president Mallesh Goud. Sukhender had quit the TDP and joined the Congress just a few days before his nomination was announced. In all these instances, a silent revolt is brewing in the Congress. In Nagarkurnool LS constituency, the candidature of Mandha Jagannatham, who shifted loyalties from the TDP, has not gone down well with the local leaders. In the Andhra region, the Congress has imposed outsiders in Visakhapatnam (D Purandeshwari), Bapatla (Panabaka Lakshmi) and Balasouri (Narasaraopet). “Why should we work for a non-local,” is the common refrain.

After making unsuccessful attempts to get the Vijayawada West assembly ticket, a desperate Jaleel Khan has created ripples by deploying
some Muslim scholars to speak against Congress party's official nominee, Mallika Begum. A few religious leaders deputed by Jaleel, a former Congress MLA, on Wednesday said they would be issuing a `fatwa' to Muslims in the city to vote against Mallika Begum. However, they retracted when the media people grilled them on their "authority" to issue a fatwa. They clarified that they were not issuing any fatwa and were only appealing to Muslim electorate not to vote in favour of Mallika since she is a woman. "As per Islamic law, women are not eligible to contest the election. So, we are requesting all the Muslims to vote against this woman for defying the Islam," urged Abdul Khadir Rizwi, moulana of Jumma Masjid at Canal Road and a staunch follower of Jaleel. Jaleel, who was with TDP till recently, rejoined Congress two months ago. Immediately after the joining the party, Jaleel began lobbying for the assembly ticket. "The fatwa drama is part of Jaleel's game plan to bring pressure on the party high command to withdraw Mallika from the race," a Congress minority leaders said. Sources said a fatwa (equivalent to a decree) could be issued by a school of scholars headed by a mufti only. In Vijayawada city, there are only three muftis, who are incidentally not associated with Wednesday's drama. "More over, no individual can issue a fatwa using religion for the sake of his or his men," a mufti said. Reacting to the issue, Mallika said: "As far as my knowledge goes, Islam has not barred women from taking part in the matters of ruling and administration." Downplaying the issue, local Congress leader Habibur Rehman said such tricks would not help Jaleel get the ticket at this juncture.

In his lifetime P Janardhan Reddy (PJR) was a popular man and even a year and a half after his death he is remembered fondly in his Khairatabad constituency. Reddy, before he died suddenly in December 2007, was planning to re-contest the 2009 elections from Khairatabad and get his son Vishnuvardhan Reddy to fight from the newly-created Jubilee Hills constituency. When the process for selection of candidates was kicked off this time, Vishnu went to Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and asked for two tickets for the family in line with late father’s plans. “Give me Jubilee Hill and give my sister a seat from Khairatabad,” the rookie Vishnu with a none too great reputation to boast of told the chief minister. YSR looked him up and down and asked him to buzz off. The Congress, however, gave Vishnu the Jubilee Hills ticket, but now he has started becoming a spoilsport for his own party. His sister P Vijaya Reddy has filed her nomination from the Serilingampally constituency that includes parts of the old Khairatabad seat. Analysts say that this will badly affect the chances of the Congress candidate for the seat. Vijaya, who has no previous experience in politics, denies any such plan undertaken by her brother, but political observers say that this indeed is a move by PJR’s son. “Vishnuvardhan Reddy has fielded his sister from Serilingampally as an independent candidate to ensure that she eats into the votes of Congress’s Bhikshapati Yadav, if not defeat him altogether,” an analyst said. While her winning the assembly seat is far fetched, sources said Vijaya, riding on PJR’s name, would at least manage to secure 10 to 20 per cent votes in the constituency. In fact, Congress candidate Bhikshapati Yadav, who had fallen out with PJR after being denied a second term as Serilingampally municipality chairman, is believed to have approached Vishnuvardhan to convince him to withdraw his sister’s candidature, but to no avail. “When I went to his house to discuss the matter, he (Vishnu) did not even come out to see me. That boy has no respect for elders. He is ill-mannered and, therefore, not liked by too many people. The sister is amateurish. Apart from being PJR’s daughter what are her credentials that can help her put up a fight against me? I think Vishnu is only further straining relations within the party by doing something like this,’’ said Yadav. Some analysts think that Vishnu might try to play some tricks in Khairatabad too by telling section of his father’s supporters to keep away from the elections. However, Congress candidate Danam Nagendar is a past master in politics himself. Vishnu could not be contacted for comments.

For a leader seeking votes for his party in lieu of promises to look after their welfare in the next five years, it is a good example of callousness and lack of sensitivity. This besides being a violation of the model code of conduct for elections.

On Wednesday, chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy seeking votes addressed a public meeting at a ground adjoining the government school at Balkonda in Nizamabad district even as the class X board examinations were being held in the school. The chief minister entered the ground next to the Zilla Parishad High School premises at 11.35 am — 25 minutes before completion of the physics paper — and addressed the meeting for more than half an hour. Students complained about the cacophony outside their classrooms when they were writing the exam. A student, B Raju, told TOI: “The peace required when writing an exam was disturbed by the election meeting and greatly affected us.” “The noise and the leaders’ speeches were reverberating in the exam hall and badly affected our concentration. Who is going to make up for all the damage to us,” another student, Nagendar, complained. It is learnt that the local Congress leaders had sought the school management’s permission to use the open playground after completion of the exam at 12 noon, but Rajasekhara Reddy arrived ahead of the schedule. “Since Rajasekhara Reddy came in ahead of time, he went ahead and addressed the meeting. We are not sure whether he knew an exam was going on close by,” a party insider said. As per the election code, no public meetings can be held within a hundred metre radius of a school campus, if classes are on or an examination is being held. A local police official batting for the ruling party told TOI: “We had barricaded the area, but a large crowd gathered and occupied the ground very close to the school compound. Why blame the chief minister?” But miffed by the development, TRS and other political parties have lodged a complaint with the Election Commission charging the chief minister with violating the model code. Election observer Meera Srivastava, who interacted with the school authorities, said that a suitable action can be taken after conducting a comprehensive enquiry. In a related development, Telugu Desam leaders also complained to the Election Commission that the chief minister had violated the model code by using the Armoor court premises to park vehicles while addressing a public meeting in the same district.

As withdrawal of nominations draws to a close on Thursday, fresh trouble is brewing within the Telugu Desam, with some of its candidates insisting on staying in the race in Assembly segments allotted to Telangana Rashtra Samiti. These candidates who were given B forms by the party on the last day of filing nominations on Monday as part of a strategy to counter the TRS now argue that they would continue as the latter had deliberately fielded weak candidates in these constituencies to help the Congress. Some senior party leaders from Telangana and the candidates are building pressure on Mr. Naidu to convince TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

The PR Prakasam district organising secretary, Mr Battula Brahmananda Reddy, has alleged that the party leaders had demanded money from him for the Parchuru ticket. “I was asked to give Rs 2.5 crore for the Parchuru seat. They said a concession of Rs 50 lakh is being given to me as I have been with the party since its inception,” he said. “Chiranjeevi and his brothers have no right to talk about corruption,” he said. However, Mr Brahmananda Reddy was not the only dissident giving trouble to the PR. Party chief Chiranjeevi, who preached Gandhigiri in Shankardada Zindabad, the Telugu remake of Lage Raho Munnabhai, is now stumped by Gandhigiri himself. He is clueless about how to deal with leaders who are silently squatting in front of the party office.
Rayalaseema leaders like Mr Masala Eeranna and Muleti Sudarshan, brother of former minister M. Mareppa, are sitting on a dharna in front of the office. They have made it clear that they will not end the protest until their demands are met. Other parties too are struggling with dissidents. With just a day left for the withdrawal of nominations for the first phase elections, parties are still trying to convince rebels — some of them even sitting MLAs — who have filed nomination as rebels to withdraw.
The Congress is worried as several influential constituency-level leaders have entered the fray as rebels.It is believed that the Congress high command has asked the state leadership to “talk” to the rebels and convince them to withdraw. Both the CM and PCC president have asked the rebels to respect the list drawn up by the high command. The TD and the TRS camps too are tense as the candidates who had filed nominations in each other’s constituencies have not withdrawn from the fray yet.
Most of the “TD-planted” nominees in the TRS constituencies are defying the party leadership’s missive. Mr Naidu has reportedly asked all of the them to withdraw in the early hours of Thursday to avoid further confusion in the Mahakutami. But only one candidate, Mr P.L. Srinivas, has heeded Mr Naidu’s words and has pulled out of the race. Former mayor Mr Teegala Krishna Reddy, Mr M.N. Srinivas, Mr Sudhir Reddy are still in the contest. The TRS chief, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao too has appealed to the rebels and other “non-official” candidates to withdraw. Meanwhile, the EC on Wednesday rejected 844 nominations.

The TDP has alleged violation of the Model of Code of Conduct in the distribution of a 40-page booklet along with a Telugu daily on Tuesday cataloguing the achievements of Congress Lok Sabha nominee D. Purandeswari. In a complaint to the Election Commission, TDP (urban) president Kona Tata Rao said neither the number of booklets printed nor the number circulated was shown anywhere in the booklet though it was a monthly edition. Though it was a magazine on agriculture, the booklet was published as Ugadi supplementary for distribution, Mr. Tata Rao said

P R P is fielding Rebel Star Krishnam Raju on behalf of party from Rajamundry constituency has been confirmed, Krishnam Raju on Thursday would go to Annavaram and offer special prayers to Lord Sri Satyanaarayana Swamy and later he would go to Rajamundry and file his Lok Sabha seat nomination. Krishnam Raju community people in Rajamundry are more in number is a positive sign for PRP. Krishnam Raju would be competing with sitting M.P. - Undavalli Arun Kumar. PRP feels that only Krishnam Raju has got the capability to fight against Undavalli.

Hero Balakrishna and Tarakarathna are campaigning for TDP and Chiru, Pawan and Nagababu are campaigning for PRP. So Congress is bringing their stars in to action. Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Banuchandar, Hero Raja would campaign for Congress Party in Vizag district from 4th April to 6th April. Jeevitha Rajashekar and Dr Rajashekar would start their Road shows from 5th April to 7th April Srikakulam District and they would campaign in 8th and 9th April in Vijayanagaram

Name:Babji Gandi
Age:46
Date of Brith:01 Sep 1963
Sex:Male
Education:M.a., B.l.
Place: Pendurthi
Party:INC
No of times participated:1

No Positions Held

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on Tuesday criticised the Grand Alliance for its lack of ‘vision’ and ‘principles’. Despite forging an alliance, the four parties hold different and contradictory views on the question of separate Telangana, he pointed out. Dr. Reddy was addressing a series of well-attended public meetings and road shows at various places in Adilabad district as he launched his election campaign here.
He said by putting aside its agenda of carving a separate Telangana and joining hands with its foe, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had effectively shunned principles. There was hardly any chance of achieving Telangana with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) rooting for a united Andhra Pradesh, he added. Calling Praja Rajyam (PR) party president K. Chiranjeevi a novice in politics, the Chief Minister said it was not apt on part of the actor-turned-politician to talk about the ‘Jalayagnam’ programme of the Congress government.
“Solving people’s problems is not like a two-hour-long film or as easy as performing four duets,” he remarked. Dr. Reddy asked people to vote for Congress candidates Kotnak Ramesh for Adilabad (ST) Lok Sabha seat, C. Ramchander Reddy for Adilabad Assembly constituency and Ajmera Hari Naik, Anil Jadhav and A. Indrakaran Reddy at Khanapur (ST), Boath (ST) and Nirmal constituencies. His appeal came after he listed the several welfare programmes of his government during its last term. With regard to the long pending demand for the inter-State Lower Penganga project, he said the State government had taken the initiative on its own and got various clearances for the project.

Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi has expressed the resolve to achieve total prohibition if the party comes to power. The focus will be initially on removing belt shops. The PRP is also committed to implementing the Rs. 100 package of food items on which it has done the homework. The party’s intention is to reduce the cost of living but not to merely compete with other parties in using populism as a means to garner votes. Addressing a press conference here hours before winding up his Praja Ankita Yatra of East Godavari district on Tuesday, Mr. Chiranjeevi said his party announced a slew of welfare schemes on the basis of expert advise and there was no reason why it could not keep its promises.Gas share
The PRP might face difficulties in fulfilling the people’s aspirations but it firmly believed that nothing was impossible if corruption was checked. The PRP also decided to do its best to secure the State’s share in K-G basin gas reserves discovered by Reliance Industries Limited and to set up State Gas Corporation if the need arose. The State’s share would be protected first before thinking of gas supply to domestic consumers.
“The Chief Minister is giving a wrong picture that I am opposed to Rajiv Arogyasri and Jala Yagnam whereas my stand has been consistent that corruption is defeating the purpose of those schemes. It is understandable that the Chief Minister is trying to mislead the people and, by doing so he is acknowledging that the PRP has grown into a force to reckon with,” observed Mr. Chiranjeevi.Security problem
Mr. Chiranjeevi said security was a big problem in East Godavari district as the police have apparently failed in doing their duty properly. His entourage could move with great difficulty particularly in Konaseema area but the police appeared to be unconcerned as there was no crowd control at all. However, he was told by Superintendent of Police Y Nagi Reddy during a telephonic conversation, that some PRP leaders sounded confident of ensuring safety of their leader, which was not the reality. Later, speaking at a packed roadshow at Amalapuram, Mr. Chiranjeevi compared the plight of people of Andhra Pradesh during the Congress and TDP regimes with what Lord Rama had endured in His 14-year-long exile in the forests (Vanavasam). “Bring back Rama Rajyam to put an end to your ordeals,” he said.

Film actor and Yuva Rajyam president Pavan Kalyan will campaign for party candidates for two days in the district from Wednesday. He will address meetings at Gajuwaka Lanka grounds at 4 p.m. and Bheemunipatnam Lighthouse at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. On Thursday, he will address meetings at Narsipatnam at 10 a.m., Chodavaram at 12 noon, Anakapalle at 2 p.m. and Atchyutapuram at 4 p.m.

The Election Commission on Tuesday served a notice to Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K. Chandrasekhar Rao asking him to explain if his party had received Rs. 10 crore as bribe from Samala Venkata Reddy to field him from Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency. This followed a disclosure made by Mr Venkat Reddy himself three days ago that he had to shell down Rs.10 crore to the party to purchase the Secunderabad ticket. Mr Chandraskehar Rao has been asked to reply by 5 p.m. on April 2.
Chief Electoral Officer I. V. Subba Rao said the EC was verifying whether the Telugu Desam and other parties violated the election code by sending SMSes to cell phone users greeting them on Ugadi and at the time seeking their votes. He said election officials in Srikakulam district had been asked to verify if a campaign poster of the Congress Assembly candidate there, Revenue Minister D. Prasada Rao, was pasted on the Rajiv Aarogyasri ambulance and if so, launch immediate action treating it as code violation.Clearing of bills
With respect to clearing of bills of irrigation contractors by the Government, he said the Irrigation and Finance Secretaries had been asked to release the payments on first-come-first served basis in a chronological order. The Chief Electoral Officer ruled out closure of the liquor shops in the State on the eve of election as sought by the Election Watch, quoting Excise officials that the revenue loss for a month would be Rs. 600 crore

Actor-turned politician Ms M. Vijayashanti has told the returning officer that she owns non-agricultural land at Koyambedu in Chennai worth Rs 27 crore. She is facing an Income Tax-related case for delay in submission of returns which has been stayed by the High Court and is pending. Vijayashanti filed her nomination papers for Medak Parliamentary constituency as a TRS candidate.
The actor claimed that she filed income tax returns up to 2008-09. She stated in her affidavit that she does not own any property in the state. In Chennai, the land owned by her is spread over 27 grounds in survey number 149 in Koyambedu. Former Union minister Mr G. Venkataswamy’s son Mr Vivekanand, the Congress candidate from Peddapalli LS constituency, claims that he has Rs 50 lakh cash. In his affidavit, Mr Vivekanand stated that he invested Rs 20.8 crore in bonds, debentures and shares in companies. He had fixed deposits of Rs 80 lakh in the names of his family members, including his wife.
Another Congress contestant, Dr Manda Jagannath, who is contesting from Nagarkurnool Parliamentary constituency, in his affidavit said he has Rs 18.86 lakh cash and owns three cars. The TD MP contestant from Adilabad, Mr Ramesh Rathod, faces two criminal cases against him including one under Railway Act registered in Luxettipet. In his affidavit he said an appeal is pending with the I-T tribunal for an amount of Rs 5.7 lakh.

Name:A. Uma Madhava Reddy

Sex:Female
Education:B.a. (discontinued)
Place: Bhongir
Party:TDP
No of times participated:2

Position
1 President, Exhibition Society
2 Minister For Mines & Geology

The Prajarajyam Party on Monday released its fourth list of candidates for the ensuing Assembly and Parliamentary elections with BCs cornering most of the seats.
The party released the names for 181 assembly seats and 28 parliamentary seats on Monday, the last day of filing nominations for the first phase. Polling is scheduled to be held in 154 assembly and 22 parliamentary constituencies of Telangana and north coastal Andhra regions on April 16.
The party has nominated 77 BCs, 26 SCs, 21 STs, 49 OCS and 8 minorities in the list of 181 assembly seats released so far, which includes 20 women. Similarly, the party gave ten seats to BCs, four to SCs, three to STs, six to OCs and five to minorities in the list of 28 parliamentary seats, which includes three women candidates.
The parliamentary candidates announced on Monday are Allu Aravind (Anakapalli), P Srinivas Yadav (Visakhapatnam), Kasani Gnaneswar-Mana Party (Chevella) and B Balraj Goud (Mahbubnagar).
The party nominated K Devender Rao in Karimnagar, V Anjaneyulu in Tandur and J Ramulu for Patancheru __ all assembly seats. Other assembly seats are Shireen Rehman (Visakha north), C Vamshikrishna Yadav (Viskha east), Ch Venkataramayya (Gajuwaka), M Srinivas Rao (Bheemli), E Sreeramamurthy (Chodavaram), P Ramesh (Pedurthi), M Jayavati (Araku Valley-ST), G Nageshwara Rao (Yalamanchili) and G Dhanraj (Payakaraopeta-SC).
On Sunday, the party announced its third list of candidates for nine Assembly and three Lok Sabha seats. The list of Assembly candidates includes - Koushik Hari (Ramagundam), Jamuna Rathod (Yellareddy), Patnam Amrutha Prasad Goud (Mahbubnagar), Rami Reddy (Jadcherla), Mittu Naik (Shadnagar), Ganganolla Reddy (Gajwel), T Venkata Reddy (Munugodu), T Devender Goud (Ibrahimpatnam) and S Vijaya Kumar (Bhoopalpalli).
The candidates for Lok Sabha are Jalagam Hemamalini (Khammam), Khaja Khayum Anwar (Medak) and Kimidi Ganapathi Rao (Vizianagaram). It is learnt that the party would continue to release the list of remaining candidates also in a phased manner.

The TD chief, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, further muddied the confusion in the Mahakutami by getting his partymen to file nominations in 25 Assembly seats marked for the TRS on Monday, the last date to file papers for the first phase of elections on April 16, and later saying that they would withdraw.
All members of Mahakutami would contest only the seats agreed upon and others would have to withdraw, Mr Naidu said late in the night on Monday.
The issue will be discussed at meeting of all Mahakutami leaders on Tuesday morning. “Every-one has to stick to Mahakutami code. There will be no friendly contest anywhere,” he said. “I have not issued “B” form at the state level,” he claimed. He said the TD would contest 221 Assembly seats while the alliance partners would contest 73 in all.
He dismissed earlier reports that he had given “B” forms to candidates as “rumours.” Earlier in the day, Mr Naidu summoned about 30 TD aspirants and issued “B” forms, authorising them to file nominations. However, only 25 of them could make it before the nominations closed at 3 pm.
Following this, Mr Naidu told the TRS chief, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, that the party should give up seats where the TD had better chances. Mr Rao refuse to oblige.Mr Rao met Mr Naidu on his return from Mahbubna-gar where he had gone to file ihs nomination for the Lok Sabha seat. There was no breakthrough, and Mr Rao left in a huff.
Mr Naidu has reportedly asked Mr Rao to withdraw his candidates in Hydera-bad and Ranga Reddy districts where the TRS has no base. He said the TRS would be be offering the seats to the Congress on a platter.
Mr Rao reportedly asked Mr Naidu to withdraw his candidates in Karimnagar, Medak and Warangal districts, where, he said, the TD has no base. The Mahakutami leaders are to meet at Mr Naidu’s residence on Tuesday.
He tried to downplay the TD move. “How can you say differences exist in Mahakutami? There is some confusion and some candidates have filed nominations. It is not valid,” Mr Rao said.
“Party leaders and workers are confused. It will be sorted out. There is no threat to Mahakutami,” he said. “My appeal to the media is please don’t add to confusion.” Elsewhere, the CPI(M) released a fresh list of candidates and continued to pressure the Telugu Desam for the Warangal East seat. It asked its candidates to file nominations from Warangal East, Narasampet and Station Ghanpur in Warangal. It will give up the latter two if it gets Warangal East.
The CPI(M) gave up its demand for Uppal in exchange for Karwan, and left Wyra to the CPI after the TD gave it Aswaraopet as compensation. The dispute over Mangalagiri and Anantapur, where polls would be held in the second phase, is yet to be resolved. In all other constituencies in first phase, the CPI reached an understanding with the TD and the CPI(M). The CPI restricted itself to the seats allotted to it but not before expressing displeasure over the handling of seat sharing by Mr Naidu and Mr Rao. The CPI agreed to leave Gajuwaka and Nellore Rural to the CPI(M). The city TD leader, Mr P.L. Srinivas, filed his nomination for the Sanathanagar Assembly seat, which was allotted to the TRS. The TRS candidate,
Mr T. Padma Rao, a confidant of Mr Rao, also filed his nomination papers.
“I was summoned by Mr Naidu at 1.20 pm, issued the “B” form,” Mr Srinivas said. “Sanathnagar is a Telugu TD bastion. It should not have been given to TRS.” Meanwhile, the TRS dropped its controversial Secunderabad Lok Sabha candidate, Mr Samala Venkat Reddy, who had claimed to have given Rs 10 crore to Mr Rao which earned him the EC’s wrath.

The Prajarajyam and Lok Satta parties are to be allotted the Rail Engine and Whistle symbols respectively at 3 pm on April 2, the last date for withdrawal of nominations.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, chief electoral officer (CEO) I V Subba Rao said that in seats where the PRP and Lok Satta would not be contesting, their symbols will be taken out of the free symbol list.
"Instructions to this effect have been given to all the returning officers in the state," Subba Rao said. The CEO clarified, "this is preferential treatment and an interim arrangement for the two parties. No equity will be given in the future." The other party which got the common symbol along with the PRP and Lok Satta is DMDK of Vijaykanth in Tamil Nadu and Puduchery.
Meanwhile, the EC has issued a notice to TRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao asking him to explain the statement of its candidate S Venkat Reddy who had claimed that he had secured the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat by paying Rs 10 crore to the TRS leadership. Venkat Reddy has since been replaced.