Political Diary

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy has said that he will abide by the party’s stand on Telangana statehood issue.
Dr. Reddy reiterated his remarks that there was no change in his stand on the issue and that was made very clear through a statement in the Assembly earlier this year. “The Congress had never said that it was opposed to Telangana,” he said at a ‘Meet the Press’ programme organised by the AP Union of Working Journalists here on Thursday. “There is no second opinion about Telangana. What I had said was while carving out a new State, the issues concerning the other regions should also be studied,” he added.
The Chief Minister, during the second phase election campaign, had expressed serious reservations on creation of Telangana stating that if a separate State was created under the Grand Alliance regime, the people of Andhra and Rayalaseema would be forced to obtain visas to enter Hyderabad. Dr. Reddy to persistent queries whether the 2009 election results had sealed the fate of statehood said that sentiment was still there. Asked further if the verdict has given a solution to the issue, Dr.Reddy pointed out that the elections were not fought on this one issue. Nevertheless, he said people had chosen the Congress party in the region where it won 50 Assembly and 12 Lok Sabha seats.
To a question whether Telangana was an issue or created by the leaders, he observed that he had repeatedly asked people whether Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) would have been formed if K. Chandrasekhar Rao was inducted into the Cabinet by then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in 1999.
To another question, Dr. Reddy said the performance of the Congress party in the region only showed that there was a leadership crisis in the TRS. When queried whether his group would continue to dominate the political scene in the party, Dr. Reddy shot back saying that there was only one group which was the Sonia and Congress group. He promised to reward the services of the party cadres. He also clarified that there was no need for a Deputy Chief Minister from the Telangana region.
Local issues to blame
Asked about the debacle of several Ministers, he said local issues had contributed to their defeat.
On whether the government was contemplating seeking ‘national project’ status for Pranahita-Chevella and Polavaram projects, he said work on that line was already on.

When Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy became the first Chief Minister in the State to be sworn in for a second consecutive term after serving a full five-year tenure on Wednesday, it was the 22nd swearing-in ceremony of Chief Ministers since the formation of the State.
Dr. Reddy is the 14th Chief Minister of the State, while Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the first who served from January 11, 1956, to January 10, 1960. The others who were at the helm of the State were Damodaram Sanjeevaiah, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, P.V.Narasimha Rao, Jalagam Vengal Rao, Marri Channa Reddy, T.Anjaiah, Bhavanam Venkatram, Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy, N. T. Rama Rao, N. Janardhana Reddy and N. Chandrababu Naidu.Longest first term
While Dr. Reddy completed five years and five days in the first term (the longest first term) and commenced his second term from Wednesday, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy too was the Chief Minister for two consecutive terms from 1964 to 1967 and again from 1967 to 1971.
Though Mr. Naidu led the Telugu Desam government for two terms consecutively, his first term lasted four years and the second four-and-a-half years. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, Channa Reddy, Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy were the other Congress Chief Ministers who served two terms but not consecutively.

Prajarajyam president K Chiranjeevi is all excited about attending the Legislative Assembly which is scheduled to start in the first week of June.
In an informal chat with reporters at the party office on Wednesday, the PRP president said he was eager to be part of the esteemed House, where legislations are passed, public finances approved and also scrutinise the government. "I am all excited to be part of the XIIIth Legislative Assembly. I am eager to learn its functioning and the importance of my role," he said.
Chiranjeevi was curious to learn the nitty-gritty associated with the Assembly and also on the responsibility of being a legislature party leader. The PRP chief was all ears to reporters when they simplified his role in the Assembly. He gave a patient hearing to them on the impending role he would have to perform on the floor of the House.
When Chiranjeevi was informed of being allotted a separate chamber in the assembly, which was previously allotted to the deputy speaker, the PRP chief said he was glad to hear the news. To another query, the PRP chief said he would attend the House without fail and come prepared in advance.
The PRP president said he would have attended the swearing-in ceremony of chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had he been extended an invitation. "I was very keen, but dropped out after not receiving an invite," he said.
Meanwhile, the Prajarajyam president continued with his massive damage-control exercise to revive the party by holding discussion with runner-up candidates in the recent elections. At least 32 contestants ended runners-up in the elections.
He had a detailed interaction with several city leaders on the measures to be initiated for strengthening the party and make it vibrant.
Apart from streamlining the functioning of party office, another noticeable change at the PRP office on Wednesday was the use of the main gate and main door on the north side by the party president. Earlier, he used to drive in through the side-gate and enter the premises through the back door as a security measure. When asked to comment on the development, the PRP staffers remained tightlipped but hinted that it could be something to do with vastu.
"Though the party president inaugurated the office on August 10 last year, he was never known to using either the main entrance or front door. We were given instructions to keep the main gate open," a staffer said.
A contestant who witnessed the party president use the main door said, "Apro-vastu door is very important for the growth of the office and the boss has already been sitting in south-west facing north as per vastu."

The crushing defeat in the elections has pushed Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) to the brink of a split with a section of party leaders staging an open revolt against party chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao.
Blaming Rao’s policies and decisions for the party’s humiliation in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections, some leaders are planning to float a new outfit and are also trying to rope in revolutionary balladeer Gaddar and TRS ideologue Jayashankar.
A group of leaders led by state legislative council member K. Dilip Kumar has held discussions in this regard in the last two days. They have decided to call a meeting later this week to discuss the future course of action, which could include floating a new party or removing Rao as party president.
The dissidents feel that KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known, has turned the party into a family affair by promoting his son. They also alleged that it was because of the decisions and style of functioning of KCR since 2004 that the party has weakened and moved away from its goal of achieving separate statehood to Telangana region.
There is a feeling among these TRS leaders critical of KCR that the party had turned into a one-man show and is confined only to fighting elections and making alliances.
The dissidents are making efforts to rope in Gaddar, a key figure in Telangana movement and TRS ideologue Jayashankar, former vice chancellor Kakatiya University.
Several leaders who quit TRS after 2004 and Telangana protagonists from different outfits are also willing to join them.
Former minister T. Devender Goud is also ready to join such a movement. Goud had quit Telugu Desam Party (TDP) last year over the Telangana issue and floated his own outfit but merged the same with Praja Rajyam before last month’s elections.
"Everything was good initially but now TRS has become another political party though KCR had declared that it is a movement for separate Telangana," said Prakash, who quit as TRS general secretary last year.
KCR had quit TDP in 2000 to float TRS, reviving the three-decade-old movement for separate statehood to Telangana, comprising 10 districts including Hyderabad.
In 2004, it joined hands with the Congress party to fight elections and bagged 26 assembly and five Lok Sabha seats. After the elections, TRS joined the Congress-led coalition governments both in the state and at the centre, evoking sharp reaction from a section of leaders.
Since then several flip-flops by KCR dealt a series of blows to the party. Ten of the state legislators and one MP staged revolt against his dictatorial style of function. The party pulled out of ruling coalitions both in the state and at the centre to protest the delay in carving out a separate state.
The by-elections forced by KCR last year to prove his point boomeranged on him as the party could retain only two Lok Sabha and nine assembly seats.
In the latest elections, TRS could win only two Lok Sabha and 10 assembly seats despite an alliance with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the two Left parties.
The legislators elected this time include KCR’s son K. Taraka Rama Rao, who was appointeda party general secretary last year.

A day after assuming charge, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara reddy today said the Cabinet would be expanded on May 25.
Participating in a meet-the-press programme, he said he would try to accommodate the partymen and give proper representation to various sections of people while undertaking the exercise.
Denying that people had expressed lack of confidence for many of his former cabinet colleagues, he said the poll results could not be construed so. So many factors, including local issues and the individual’s performance, were responsible for defeat of a particular party candidate in a constituency, he pointed out.
’’I am not too sure they will be accommodated in the Cabinet,’’ he said, adding that in consultation with the party, remedial measures would be taken to accommodate them suitably in the party.
The results showed that ’’people cannot be taken for granted.
Whether in power or not, one should be ready to do public service.’’ With people’s blessings and support, the Congress government would be able to implement with renewed vigour the developmental programmes and welfare schemes, including the irrigation initiative ’’Jalayagnam’’ to provide water for every acre of land in the state.
Despite economic slowdown, the state government would be able to mobilise the required financial resources for the projects, with the Centre agreeing to relax the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act to facilitate borrowings for irrigation and other infrastructure projects.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu was Thursday unanimously elected leader of the newly-elected legislators of the party in Andhra Pradesh assembly.
The TDP legislature party met at NTR Trust Bhavan, the party headquarters here, and elected Naidu as the leader. Senior leader P. Ashok Gajapati Raju proposed Naidu’s name while other leaders seconded it.
Naidu will be the leader of opposition in the state assembly for the second consecutive term.
In the just-concluded elections, TDP bagged 92 seats in 294-member assembly and won six out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Though it doubled its strength in the assembly, it failed to return to power despite an alliance with Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and the two Left parties.
The former chief minister asked his legislators to play the role of constructive opposition and strengthen the party. Raju, a former minister, said the party lost the elections due to "bad luck".
The four party Grand Alliance-led by TDP polled 1.99 percent fewer votes than the Congress party, which retained power for the second consecutive term by winning 156 assembly seats.
However, the difference in votes polled by the two was as high as 5.03 percent in the Lok Sabha elections as the Congress bagged 33 seats.

The Prajarajyam party on Tuesday responded to the cash-for-seat allegations made by Parakala Prabhakar, former aide of PRP president K Chiranjeevi.
Addressing a media conference 48 hours after the allegations were made, party general secretary Allu Aravind rubbished the allegations and challenged him to prove them. "I will resign and walk out of the party if Parakala can prove his allegations.
I am a man of honour. My integrity is my strength and I will not be cowed down by the statements of a person whose credibility is questionable," he said.
Parakala had launched a scathing attack on Prajarajyam president K Chiranjeevi on Sunday accusing him of forcing candidates to part with their movable and immovable assets like finances, plots, houses, land parcels and cinema halls in return for a ticket of the party.
Allu Aravind alleged that Parakala has been making these allegations at the behest of some vested interests. He said the party was committed to its ideals and reiterated the party president’s statement that they were committed to the cause of people with total sincerity. "Our agenda will continue to be social justice and fight against corruption," he said.
Allu said nearly 70 lakh people had voted for PRP and the party wanted to send a message to its cadre that they need not get disappointed. "If I do not react, Parakala’s Goebbels propaganda will start gaining strength," he said.

A telephonic call from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday triggered speculation that the MIM chief might have been invited to join Manmohan Singh’s cabinet.
"It was nice of her (Sonia Gandhi) to call me personally. She congratulated me for retaining the Hyderabad LS seat and also on the spectacular performance of MIM," Owaisi told TOI on Tuesday.
However, he declined to comment on the buzz that the UPA chairperson wanted him to join the Union cabinet. It was learnt, that Owaisi would be flying to New Delhi on Wednesday morning at the invitation of Gandhi to attend the UPA meeting.
"I have sought time from her to discuss issues related to the Muslim community after she is finished with the formalities of cabinet formation and her response was positive," Owaisi said.

In spite of declaring his loyalty to the state Congress satraps headed by Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, Vijayawada MP-elect Lagadapati Rajagopal’s candidature for a berth in the Union cabinet is not a certainty.
Though technically YS Rajasekhara Reddy has nothing to do with cabinet formation at the Centre, it is believed that he would prefer Guntur MP-elect Rayapati Sambasiva Rao ahead of Rajagopal and Eluru MP-elect Kavuri Sambasiva Rao. The CM’s camp reportedly views the networking capabilities and wealth of Rajagopal and Kavuri as serious threats to the interests of YSR, sources suggested.
Sources said though it’s prime minister Manmohan Singh’s prerogative to choose his council of ministers, YSR could recommend some names from AP for the ministerial posts. "It’s in this scheme of things that YSR could press more strongly the names of others for Union ministerships," a source said.
Though he began his journey as a strong supporter of YSR, Rajagopal started working independently. "One cannot stop Rajagopal from steamrolling others if he becomes a Union minister," a senior Krishna district Congress leader said.
Training guns on the MP-elect’s ambitions, a party MLA said Rajagopal started tom-toming YSR as a real political hero only after he realised the futility of rubbing YSR on the wrong side.
But YSR is not the one who would forget and forgive his detractors easily. Sources said he was particularly upset at the way Rajagopal twisted the arms of his staunch followers in Krishna district in the last five years. "Rajagopal has always been a matter of concern for the CM as the former steals the thunder. This has not gone down well with the CM," claimed another Congress legislator.
On the other hand, Rayapati, who too had a strained relationship with the CM in the past, mended fences with YSR. "Hence, he is ahead of others in the race," said a Guntur district Congress leader.
Insofar as Kavuri is concerned, Rajasekhara Reddy wouldn’t like to see another wealthy leader trying to dictate terms in state politics, a source added.

Blaming the Telugu Desam Party for the drubbing the TRS had received in the recent election, chief of the separatist party K Chandrasekhara Rao has said that a decision whether to continue in the Grand Alliance or not would be taken at the party’s general body meeting to be convened shortly.
Speaking to reporters after attending the TRS Legislature Party meeting today, where Eetala Rajender was elected its leader, Rao said if the performance of the TRS was poor it was because vote transfer from the TDP to the TRS did not take place. In some places, it was a clear case of sabotage by the TDP.
He said if one looked at the results of the elections it would become clear that the Grand Alliance had polled more votes than the Congress in the 119 Assembly seats in the Telangana region. The alliance had secured 38 per cent while the Congress had garnered only 33 per cent vote. In the Lok Saba seats which the TRS had contested, it got 31 per cent votes while the MLAs secured 27 per cent vote share in each of the seven Assembly segments of the Lok Sabha constituency.
In the nine Lok Sabha seats the party had contested, of the total 83.31 lakh votes polled, the TRS candidates secured 26.01 lakh votes. In the Assembly seats where the TRS had contested, of the 60 lakh votes polled, the party secured 16 lakh accounting for 27 per cent share.
If the TRS did not do well in the election, it was because of the split of the anti-Congress vote since the PRP and Lok Satta candidates too were in the fray. “We had clear chances of winning at least two more Lok Sabha and seven assembly seats but for the division of anti-Congerss vote and the TDP’s lack of cooperation,” he said.
He dismissed the criticism that the TRS’s foundations had shaken after the elections. “Our vote bank is in tact. No damage has been done,” he said and added that the TRS would continue to be active in pursuing the cause of Telangana statehood.
“There is no question of any slowing down of the movement. We will keep fighting battles and we will not rest,” he said.To a question on how long it would take to secure separate State, Chandrasekhara Rao said as he had said that they would continue fighting for the cause, the question was irrelevant.

The new government headed by Y S Rajasekhara Reddy will be sworn in at a mega public event at L B Stadium on Wednesday evening at 6.30 pm.
This will be after a hectic day of developments in the ruling party on Tuesday, beginning with Rajasekhara Reddy flying to New Delhi in the morning to attend the Congress parliamentary party meeting where prime minister Manmohan Singh is likely to be re-elected the CPP leader. After that, the chief minister is scheduled to fly back to Hyderabad and preside over a cabinet meeting in which a resolution will be passed recommending resignation of the state government.
After submitting the resolution to the governor, the Congress legislature party is to meet on Tuesday evening where YSR would be re-elected the leader. The next day, the swearing-in will take place.
Rajasekhara Reddy, who returned from New Delhi on Monday afternoon, was closeted in his camp office for the rest of the day busy discussing with his aides about the composition of the new council of ministers as apart from the seniors in the present cabinet, there are many new claimants.
It is learnt that four ministers N Raghuveera Reddy, K Jana Reddy, J C Diwakar Reddy and Botsa Satyanarayana are among those who are seeking a change in the portfolio. But the possibility of retaining Jana Reddy as home minister appears to be strong, the sources said. From the council, only K Rosaiah is likely to be taken at this juncture, sources said.
Among the new aspirants from the city are D Nagender and Jayasudha, while existing ministers Mukesh Goud, J Geetha Reddy and Sabita Indira Reddy are expected to be retained. Among the other new aspirants are D K Aruna from Gadwal in Mahabubnagar district. In 2004, she had won on the Samajwadi Party ticket but remained an associate member of the Congress party. Now that she was given Congress ticket and got re-elected, she is also trying for berth in the council. Vatti Vasant Kumar, a trusted lieutenant of the chief minister from East Godavari district is also among the new contenders.
Meanwhile, the chief minister declared that he would keep aside the bitter politics that dominated the state for the last two months and would chant the development mantra for next five years.
Reddy, who was closeted with officials soon after his return from Delhi, told them to sort out the hiccups regarding drinking water supply particularly in areas like Bholakpur. Reddy also directed the officials to ensure that the P V Narasimha Rao express highway was completed on a war footing.

Prajarajyam president K Chiranjeevi on Monday was formally elected leader of Prajarajyam Legislature Party.
The party president interacted with the newly elected legislators, most of them first-timers, for a little over two hours. The party won 18 assembly seats in the recently concluded elections and is the second largest opposition party after the TDP.
The party has a lone member in the Legislative Council, B Raghavendra Reddy.
One of the legislators, who shared details of the PRLP meeting, said the party had resolved to play a constructive role in Assembly by encouraging the government on issues that are of help to the masses and strongly oppose any kind of anti-people policies. "Our criticism will be constructive and all issues of social concern would be accorded top priority," he told them.
The elected members informed Chiranjeevi that the legislature party would abide by all decisions taken by the PRLP president.
The PRP chief meanwhile assured members that he would take them into confidence while reviewing reasons for the failure of the party in the recently-concluded elections. Chiranjeevi told them that he was in possession of voting statistics that reflect the performance of the party at the polling booth level.
Later, Chiranjeevi introduced the newly elected members to the media and thanked people for helping them to create a political space. "We have been elected by the people to solve their problems and we will just do that," he said and added that the names of the party whip and secretary would be announced very soon.
Those present at the meeting included Elleti Maheshwar Reddy (Nirmal), Anil Eravathri (Balkonda), Bandaru Satyanand Rao (Kothapeta), Ganta Srinivasa Rao (Anakapalli), Muttam Srinivas Rao alias Avanthi Srinivas (Bheemili), Chintalapudi Venkatramayya (Gajuwaka), Panchakarla Ramesh (Pendurthi), Kurasala Kanna Babu (Kakinada Rural), Pantham Gandhi Mohan (Peddapuram), Eeli Nani (Tadepalligudem), Yellampalli Srinivas (Vijayawada West), Yelamanchili Ravi (Vijayawada East), A Rambabu (Giddaluru), Sridhar Krishna Reddy Mungamuru (Nellore City), Bhuma Sobha Nagi Reddy (Allagadda) and Vanga Geeta (Pithapuram). The lone PRP MLA who could not make it to the meeting was Katasani Rami Reddy from Banaganapalle, as he was pre-occupied with some work in his constituency.
Meanwhile, the political affairs committee meeting of PRP was indefinitely postponed as several senior leaders were away in districts.

Electors stood behind the Congress in highly sensitive areas in the state where hundreds of farmers had lost their land to infrastructure or irrigation projects.
Both the Telugu Desam and the Praja Rajyam did their best to whip up emotions among the oustees of various projects at Polavaram, Vadarevu Nizampatnam Ports Industrial Corridor (Vanpic) and Kakinada Special Economic Zone apart from Nadergul and Polepally SEZ on the city outskirts.
In all these places the Congress came out with flying colours except in Polepally which comes under the Jadcherla Assembly segment limits in Mahbubnagar district. Here, the Congress nominee, Mr Mallu Ravi, won during the bypolls in 2008 when the agitation was at its peak but lost this time after the segment was converted from an SC seat into an open category.
Vanpic is a mega infrastructure project for which the government had ordered the acquisition of 28,000 acres. While 18,000 acres of the acquired land fell in Ongole and Chirala constituencies, the remaining land is in Repalle and Bapatla segments.
The Congress won all the four segments besides Ongole and Bapatla Lok Sabha segments.
The infrastructure minister, Mr Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, was the worst affected due to the TD criticism as thousands of people from his fishermen community would be displaced under the project in the erstwhile Nizampatnam constituency which became Repalle. The minister won from Repalle after he could convince the voters about the rehabilitation programme to be launched by Vanpic.
Interestingly, the former speaker, Mr Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, who flip flopped on the Kakinada SEZ and the CPI(M) which spearheaded the agitation against Polavaram, were turned down by the electors. Even in Satyaveedu SEZ area, the Congress polled more votes in eight villages affected by the project though the TD won the seat.
The Congress not only won in the Madhira Assembly seat but also got a majority of the votes in Mudigonda village where the CPI(M) led “bhooporatam” turned violent leading to the death of seven persons in police firing. The TD also claimed that one of its workers was killed and both the parties paraded dead bodies in 2007.
The CPI(M) which was also instrumental in the agitation of the Gangavaram port outstees leading to the death of two persons, stood fourth in Gajuwaka Assembly seat while the Congress candidate got 24,000 votes and its rebel 33,000. The Praja Rajyam won the seat securing 51,000 votes.
The Congress government while continuing the policy decision of the previous government, stepped up the acquisition process and even roped in GMR group when the original promoters including Oil and Natural Gas Commission developed cold feet over the project.
The TD president, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, even announced scrapping of the project after coming to power during his election campaign, while Chiranjeevi assured to have a relook into the issue.
“Mr Ramakrishnudu got fewer votes in Tondangi mandal where 3,500 acres were acquired for KSEZ,” one of the promoters of SEZ pointed out.
Mr Naidu also organised dharnas and stalled Assembly proceedings accusing the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, of benefiting from the land sales in Nadurgul. He mobilised some villagers against the transactions.
However, the Congress nominee, Ms Sabita Indra Reddy, won comfortably from Nadurgul which falls in Maheswaram Assembly segment.

Chiranjeevi’s supposed stronghold areas and potential vote banks - East and West Godavari - broke into spontaneous celebrations late on Saturday and early Sunday as locals “rejoiced’’ over the news of the superstar’s defeat. Even Prajarajyam party workers were seen distributing sweets when the news of Allu Aravind’s Anakapalli defeat flashed on TV screens.
“We are very happy. These fellows (Chiranjeevi and Allu Aravind) were selling tickets in their first election itself, even before they came to power. They would have looted the state had they won,’’ a resident of East Godavari told TOI. Party workers and residents of the twin districts, from where PRP won just one seat, were at their vitriolic best on Saturday as they now possibly knew there was no point in being politically correct anymore. “We wanted to see Chiranjeevi as the chief minister.
But, now we have given up the hope in disgust,’’ said a PRP leader in Kakinada. He further said, “Parties become polluted and leaders become corrupt only after a few years into politics. But in PRP, the rot set in right from the beginning.’’ Another PRP leader said that Chiranjeevi and his family did not trust anyone except Aravind. “That has resulted in this disaster. They did not take the opinion of the cadre at any level,’’ he said.
Party workers said tickets were given to “worthless candidates,” ignoring the lists given by the cadre. The biggest complaint among the cadre is that Allu Aravind stood as a wall between them and Chiranjeevi and this, they say, was the main reason why the party was swept out. “Allu Aravind deserved to be defeated. Not only did he mislead Chiranjeevi on important issues, he alienated many leaders and forced them to leave the party,’’ said a party leader blaming Aravind for selling party tickets, unmindful of the candidates’ credentials, character and capacity.
The party cadre had apparently advised Chiranjeevi to contest from Narasapuram constituency but he chose Palakollu. “It is a good example of how blind the party leadership was to the aspirations of the party cadre,’’ another PRP leader said.
While some Chiru fans here said that even the single seat won by PRP should have been lost, a few remained loyal saying that the celebrations in the two districts were inappropriate. “We cannot see him being insulted by party workers,’’ said a Chiranjeevi Yuvatha district leader in West Godavari. But such sentiments were rare.
Clearly, Chiranjeevi has lost a lot more than just an election. Respect and fans could just be added to the list of his losses.

Prajarajyam president K Chiranjeevi on Sunday came under a scathing attack from his former aide Parakala Prabhakar, with the latter accusing him of forcing candidates to part with their movable and immovable assets in return for a ticket of the party.
Addressing a crowded media conference, Parakala, who quit PRP a month ago accusing it of functioning like a company, said that the PRP bosses owed people of Andhra Pradesh a public apology. He said his allegations against the PRP bosses before he quit the party were vindicated by the poor mandate to the party. He also said that Saturday’s verdict was a slap on the face of people who tried to hoodwink the voter through their theatrical performances.
He said people in Telangana, Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra buried PRP in the elections without a trace as they could see the hidden agenda of the PRP bosses. This verdict would also deter any other actor from taking to politics with an ulterior motive. "Bosses who thought they would be voted because of their glamour have been shown their place in real life," he said.
Parakala alleged that PRP bosses forced aspirants to part with their movable and immovable assets like finances, plots, houses, land parcels and cinema halls in return for a ticket of the party. "The day is not far away when you will hear news about people asking PRP bosses to return their respective properties that were forcibly taken away from them. I personally feel that the PRP bosses will return these assets if candidates who feel cheated insist for the same at the earliest, as there have been instances wherein they have returned money to candidates after failing to allot a seat to them," he pointed out.
Parakala said Chiranjeevi was suffering from a disorder which psychiatrists describe as an illusion of grandeur, wherein people start to feel that they are able to visualize the shape of things to come according to their wishes. "It takes only six months for him to get cured," he pointed out.
Parakala said the election results showed that PRP’s edifice was built on deceit and mistrust. "Personal agenda was of paramount importance to PRP, hence they were rejected at the hustings," he said.
Urging the PRP bosses to do a thorough introspection, Parakala suggested them to approach the Registrar of Companies to register and later shut it down in the interests of the people of Andhra Pradesh. They (PRP bosses) neither cared for the candidates nor received their phones all through the elections. "The ones who could win was only because of their respective personal charisma and efforts," he said.

The blame game in the opposition camp has begun. While the Telugu Desam Party feels that the efforts put in by the party rank and file got diluted because of joining hands with TRS and Left parties. On the other hand, the CPI feels that TDP and TRS had violated the understanding in seat sharing and created confusion leading to drubbing in the polls.
The feeling among the party workers is that the party should not have left 110 seats for the allies particularly when it had grown in strength in Telangana and coastal districts. "The strategy has boomeranged," a senior leader said. "If the party had gone alone, it would have certainly won another 50-60 seats," the party felt.
It also expressed serious concern over the dismal performance of TRS. TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao had forced the party to part with 33 seats including several constituencies where TRS had no strength causing damage for TDP, they felt.
The TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, who held a review meeting with party leaders on Sunday, is learnt to have expressed his serious concern over the internal bickerings in the party particularly in Guntur, Krishna and Prakasam districts particularly among the senior leaders and remarked that this had contributed to the poor performance of the party in these three districts. The Yuvagarjna and Naidu’s Mee Kosam yatra had given a new enthusiasm to the cadre but this could not get converted into votes effectively because of infighting among the leaders, Naidu is learnt to have felt.
The party is also of the opinion that it needs to re-work its strategies and strengthen the party in East and West Godavari as well as north coastal districts. Though it had done much better than last time, it needs to regain the lost paradise, Naidu is understood to have said.
A revamping of the party structure and infusing new blood are among the strategies that are being examined. The seniors need to be tamed, Naidu feels. Naidu it may be recalled had been assuring the cadre that the party would give due recognition to them. He now proposes to convene review meeting once every three months and involve the cadre in various activities to see that they do not get demoralised.
Meanwhile, the TDLP meeting is likely to be convened on Monday or Tuesday to elect Naidu as the leader of the legislature party.

Congress party leaders and workers staged a protest at the collectorate here on Sunday demanding recounting in Uravakonda assembly segment blaming that the returning officer (RO) had hastily issued the winning declaration for TDP candidate P Kesav.
Kesav won by a thin 242 votes against his Congress rival Y Visweswar Reddy. Visweswar along with Anantapur MP-elect A Venkatrami Reddy and other leaders staged a dharna demanding recounting. They alleged that the RO had colluded with the TDP candidate and issued the declaration.
In the close finish, Kesav got 64,741 votes while Visweswar secured 64,499 votes and PRP candidate got 8255 votes. Kesav defeated Visweswar Reddy by a small margin of 242 votes.
"We have several doubts on the counting process and urged for recounting on Saturday but the RO urgently issued the winning declaration form to the TDP candidate," Visweswar alleged. Meanwhile, collector Anil Kumar said he would bring the matter to the notice of the Election Commission.

No matter which party gets power in Andhra Pradesh and which party bags the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats from the state, voters in the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency always elect the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM).
The delimitation of constituencies has come as a boon for the Muslim political party as it improved its tally in the state assembly from five to seven seats, while retaining Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat for the eighth consecutive term. MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi won the seat for the second term despite stiff challenge from Telugu Desam Party (TDP) candidate Zahid Ali Khan, editor of Urdu daily Siasat who had the support of TDP allies Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Communist Party Of India (CPI) and Communist party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
The London-educated barrister had first won the seat in 2004, when his father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi made way for him after representing the seat for six consecutive terms since 1984.
The young Muslim leader, who took over as MIM president last year after the death of his father, defeated Khan by a majority of 113,865 votes. The MIM chief secured 308,361 votes while his nearest rival polled 194,196 votes. This was the first election after delimitation of the constituency, which earlier had three out of seven assembly segments in the rural areas. The delimitation increased the percentage of Muslim voters from 50 percent to 70 percent.
In the previous elections, the MIM had the BJP as its main rival. The BJP’s senior leader M. Venkaiah Naidu had also contested unsuccessfully from this constituency in 1996. MIM, which had an unofficial understanding with the ruling Congress party, maintained its supremacy in the assembly elections too, winning the two newly created assembly constituencies in the city and increasing its tally from five to seven.
Asaduddin’s younger brother Akbaruddin Owaisi won the Chandrayangutta assembly seat for the third consecutive term. Akbaruddin will continue to be the party’s leader in the assembly. The party also retained its traditional strongholds of Charminar, Yakutpura and Karwan and won the newly created Bahadurpura and Nampally constituencies. The MIM also wrested the Malakpet seat from the Congress party. Asifnagar, the constituency won by MIM in 2004, was scrapped in the delimitation.
While the MIM improved its tally, the number of Muslim candidates in 294-member assembly remained at 11. Three Muslims candidates of the Congress and one from the TDP were elected to the assembly. However, two Muslim ministers Mohammed Ali Shabbir and Mohammed Fareeduddin were defeated.
The number of Muslims MPs from the state came down from two to one. In 2004, Nizamuddin of the Congress was elected from Hindupur Lok Sabha constituency but this time the party fielded Khasim Khan, who lost the election to the TDP candidate. Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the 57.8 million voters in the state.

Tamil Nadu and Andhra once again lived up to their reputation of playing a decisive role in the formation of government at theCentre with both the states contributing more than 65 seats to kitty of Congress-led UPA which will retain power.
While ruling Congress in Andhra Pradesh won 32 out of the total 42 seats in the state, DMK-Congress combine emerged victorious in 28 out of the 39 seats in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Congress also wrested the lone seat in Puducherry from PMK with Union Minister V Narayanaswamy winning from there by a comfortable margin.
It was UPA’s tally of 75 from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry that had helped the Congress form the government at the Centre after the 2004 elections.
Since 1996 Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have played a major role in the government formation at the Centre.
It was DMK, TMC and TDP which had mooted the United Front that ruled the country for just one-and-a-half years. Then in 1998 elections, TDP, AIADMK, PMK and MDMK had played the role of a kingmaker when BJP formed a government with its allies.
When an election was forced on the country after Jayalalithaa withdrew support to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government in 2009, BJP joined hands with TDP in Andhra Pradesh and DMK in Tamil Nadu and bagged maximum number of seats which helped BJP come back to power again.
DMK, PMK and MDMK cobbled an alliance with Congress and trounced the AIADMK-BJP combine by scoring 40 out of 40 in 2004.

Y S Rajasekhara Reddy appeared all set to lead a second term as Congress inched towards the crucial 148 seats mark. At 2:30 pm, Congress had won 110 seats with TDP trailing behind with 82 seats. The TRS won nine seats, Left parties 3, PRP 11 and others 3.
The Congress was way ahead in the Lok Sabha seats leading in 33 seats with TDP trailing far behind with 6 seats. The TRS was leading in 2 while the PRP is yet to open its account.
Reddy won from Pulivendala constituency with a margin of 69,000 votes while TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu won with a margin of 49,000 votes from Kuppam constituency.
TRS President K Chandrasekhara Rao was trailing from Mahbubnagar LS constituency. In Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM was also trailing behind TDP’s Zahid Ali Khan after the second round of counting.
The Congress is likely to take the support of AIMIM and independents if required to form the government. At least half a dozen ministers of the YSR government were trailing and may lose. They include Energy and Minority Minister Shabbir Ali from Kamareddy and R&B Minister Jeevan Reddy from Jagitiyala

A jubilant Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the press at 10 Janpath as it became clear that the UPA and the Congress party on its own had made spectacular gains in these elections. Sonia put at rest all speculation by stating firmly that Manmohan Singh would be the Prime Minister.
Gandhi said the people of India always made the right choice.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that with this verdict, the public had expressed confidence in the Congress and faith in Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. He also said that he would try to get Rahul in the Cabinet.
The Congress-led UPA is all set to retain power at the Centre putting up an impressive performance in states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to overwhelm the BJP-led NDA.
The UPA alliance is ahead in 250 constituencies with Congress alone leading in 198 seats. The ruling Front is just short of a little over 20 seats for the magic figure of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
The NDA is leading in 157 seats with BJP ahead in 119 seats.
The Congress exulted over its victory saying it was a vindication of its policies while BJP spokespersons were still unwilling to concede defeat though they admitted that the UPA was ahead in early trends.
Manmohan Singh will be the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after a full five-year term with the Congress having nominated him as its candidate for the top post, first time it had done in its history.
The Congress performance was spectacular in Kerala where it routed the Left Front and dealt a severe blow to the Marxists in West Bengal with help from ally Trinamool Congress.
It also swept Delhi, did exceedingly well in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and more than doubled its tally in UP leading in 20 of the 80 seats there.
Meanwhile, the Congress said Rahul Gandhi’s leadership of the campaign was one of the decisive factors behind the party’s good performance.
Pointers to emerging scenario:
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said a stable government was the need of the hour in these times of global recession and there should be no problem in formation of a stable government.
"People were confident that only UPA can provide a stable government and with the results and trends available so far, there should be no hindrance to formation of a stable government," Pawar said.
He also said that his party would support Congress’s choice for PM.
BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj said the trends were "disappointing" and not on expected lines.
"Trends are not on expected lines. It is little disappointing. We concede UPA is ahead," Punj said. He said the party’s parliamentary board would meet to analyse what went wrong.
Admitting that Congress "seems to have the upper hand", another BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said, "As of now UPA is leading. We are lagging behind."
Asked what went wrong, Naidu said, "That has to be analysed. It is disappointing, I do agree".
The CPI on the other hand ruled out supporting a Congress-led government, saying it would sit in opposition if the people’s mandate was not for forming a non-BJP, non-Congress government at the Centre.
"We are not with Congress party either at the end of the day or at beginning of the day...if the mandate is not for us to form a non-BJP non-Congress government, alright, then we will sit in the opposition," D Raja said.
On the Left’s performance in Kerala, the CPI leader said there were certain "adverse factors" in the southern state and "we need to analyse in the coming days".
Also, the Congress has not ruled out support from Janata Dal (United)’s Nitish Kumar.

The glamour quotient of Telugu superstar K. Chiranjeevi failed to garner votes as his Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) appeared to be headingfor a crushing defeat in the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections.
Despite a high-pitch campaign and tall claims, the PRP launched by the actor in August last year came a cropper as the votes were counted Saturday.
Initial trends from all 294 assembly constituencies show the party is leading in only 20 assembly constituencies. The party candidates are leading in two out of 42 Lok Sabha constituencies.
The only consolation for Chiranjeevi is that despite a poor performance, his party may hold the key to power as both the ruling Congress party and the four-party grand alliance led by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) appear to stop short of majority.
There was gloom in PRP camp, as the actor had been hopeful of his party reaching the magic figure of 148.
Chiranjeevi himself was trailing in Palacole assembly constituency in his native West Godavari district, though he was ahead in Tirupati, the other assembly segment he is contesting.
The party failed to make any impact even in East and West Godavari districts and some other parts of coastal Andhra, where it was expected to do well. The presence of PRP only seemed to have affected the prospects of TDP in some constituencies and of Congress in some others.
The trends are a big blow to the 53-year-old actor, who had launched the party with a mammoth public meeting in Tirupati amid high expectations from his fans.
After a three-decade-long film career, his plunge into politics was expected to dramatically alter the political equations in the state. Pundits had compared the event to the political entry of the legendary actor N.T. Rama Rao, who created history by coming to power within nine months after launching TDP in 1982.
Though as a film star the popularity of Chiranjeevi was comparable to that of NTR, he failed to match NTR in politics.
Chiranjeevi, who launched the party on the slogan of social justice, had hoped to become the first Andhra Pradesh chief minister from his Kapu community. Despite having a sizeable majority, the community is yet to have its leader as chief minister in a state where most of the chief ministers were either from Reddys or Kammas, the two dominant castes.
The migration of several leaders from TDP to Chiranjeevi’s camp also failed to help the party. PRP’s prospects were also hit by series of resignations by its leaders before the elections to protest the manner in which tickets were distributed.