Political Diary

The episode comes in the wake of rumours that that the Congress has been trying to attract prominent leaders from the Opposition parties. Chandrasekhar Rao, who had been keeping away from the public eye for fear of ``Ashada masam’’ had stepped into the Telangana Bhavan only yesterday with the arrival of the new month.

The grapevine has it that Vijayashanti too shares Rao’s sentiments on Sravana Masam, in that she regards it as auguring well for new beginnings! When the actress, who was earlier in the BJP and later launched her own outfit -- Talli Telangana, merged the latter with the TRS, party chief Chandrasekhar Rao had famously declared that Vijayashanti was his ninth sister, as he had eight already.

As for today’s visit, Vijayashanti has urged mediapersons not to read much into her meeting with the chief minister.``I called on him Minister only for sanctioning of some works in the Medak Lok Sabha segment, and also thanked him for okaying railway projects in the segment,’’ she said. The MP is said to have urged Reddy to allocate 10 TMC water to the district under the proposed Pranahita-Chevella project, and to accord top priority to the development works in her constituency.

She maintained that she had no plans to shift allegiance to another party. “If at all there are such plans, I will inform you,’’ she told the media at Secretariat.When she met the Chief Minister Congress MLA T Jayaprakash Reddy relatives too accompanied her.