Desperate YSR talking crazy, says Babu

VV బాలకృష్ణ

First Published : 18 Apr 2009 09:43:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 18 Apr 2009 02:39:15 PM IST
KAIKALUR (Krishna Dt): “People of Rayalaseema and Andhra would never be treated as foreigners in Hyderabad. It is Congress president Sonia Gandhi who is a foreigner as she hails from Italy,’’ Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu has said.
Coming down heavily on Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy for his remarks yesterday in Kurnool district, after the first phase of election, that Andhra and Rayalaseema people would become foreigners in Hyderabad if people voted the Grand Alliance to power, Naidu alleged that Rajasekhara Reddy was fanning regional ill-will among people.
“Rajasekhara Reddy is making crazy statements for the sake of regaining power,’’ he said in an election meeting here today.
Stating the Chief Minister had made the statement out of frustration, Naidu said the TDP was committed to the welfare of settlers in Hyderabad. It gave more seats to them, he pointed out.
“There is no insecurity to Andhra people in Hyderabad,’’ he averred.
“It was Rajasekhara Reddy who provoked Rayalaseema people during the NTR regime and was also responsible for a delegation of Telangana legislators meeting Sonia Gandhi for a separate State during my tenure,’’ Naidu said.
Rajasekhara Reddy’s only aim was to remain in power. For this, he was creating differences among various regions, he charged. ``All of us know Rajasekhara Reddy’s criminal background,’’ Naidu alleged.
Naidu said the TDP was not against irrigation projects.
“When Maharashtra government was constructing Babhali project, Rajasekhara Reddy remained silent and failed to protect State’s interests,’’ he alleged.
Questioning the sincerity of Rajasekhara Reddy on irrigation projects, Naidu said in the case of Polavaram, digging of canals was taken up before the actual project works, for the sake of kickbacks. He further alleged that Rajasekhara Reddy had diverted Krishna waters to the factories set up by his son Jagan Mohan Reddy.
“We have assured allocation from Krishna and Godavari rivers.
Our share will be utilised fully, if the Grand Alliance is voted to power,’’ Naidu assured.
On the Kolleru lake operation, Naidu said the farmers who had lost 7,500 acres would be given lands there in the lake. He assured Upputeru would be widened.
Seeking votes for Maganti Babu, former Congress minister, Naidu said honest politicians found no place in `corrupt’ Rajasekhara Reddy’ rule.

Congress will be wiped out on April 23, says Chandrababu

First Published : 19 Apr 2009 04:09:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 19 Apr 2009 12:25:30 PM ఇష్ట


TENALI: “Do not fall in the ‘maya’ (illusion) of the Congress which is determined to purchase votes,’’ he warned. “All those who witnessed the ‘demonical rule’ in the State in the last five years will celebrate ‘Diwali’, as the demon — ‘Naraka’ Congress — will be killed on April 23,’’ he said while addressing huge gatherings in Guntur district.
Frequently using philosophical and religious phraseology in his speeches, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu cautioned voters that ‘hand’, the Congress symbol, was nothing but ‘Bhasmasura hastam’. He branded Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy as ‘Narahantakudu’.
Addressing election meetings in Repalle, Vemuru, Tenali and other towns in the district, Naidu asserted that the TDP would surely regain power in the State. “The Grand Alliance will win 110 seats in the first phase and it will definitely be ahead of the Congress in the second phase too,’’ Naidu averred and declared ‘Raajyadhikaram mande’ (political power is ours).
As the TDP pinned its hopes on Guntur district to win 17 out of the 19 Assembly seats in the district, the mood and response of the crowd enthused Naidu. “Going by the response from you, I wish to stay in Andhra Paris.
But, I am moving forward to address meetings in other towns,’’ Naidu said in Tenali.
To promote his Cash Transfer Scheme, Naidu showed an ATM card to voters.
“You can withdraw money in any town using this card,’’ he assured them.
“The Congress is prepared to pay Rs 2,000 per vote. Do not take the cash. If the TDP is voted to power, I will give Rs 2,000 monthly. You will get Rs 1.2 lakh after five years,’’ the TDP said.
Shedding light on the CTS, Naidu said unlike leaders of the Congress, the poor would not transfer the money to Swiss banks. All the money they would get from the government would be spent in the local markets to purchase rice, edible oil and millets. The money deposited in the bank accounts of women would help rejuvenate market economy in the time of recession, Naidu said while defending his scheme. He also promised to give more than Rs 2,000 for families who gave up the habit of consuming liquor. “Do not consume liquor. Use the money you will get under the CTS for eating nutritious food,’’ Naidu counselled. On the colour TV scheme, he said, “You can watch the movies of NTR Jr and Balakrishna on the CTvs. You can also watch health, agriculture and other educative programmes and improve your standard of living,’’ Naidu explained.
In Repalle, Naidu objected to the Congress changing names for projects conceived by the TDP. “The TDP will change all the names of the projects which have the tag of Rajiv or Indira,’’ Naidu said.
In his speeches, Naidu mainly focused on Congress-bashing and made light of the very presence of the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP). PRP’s driver (Chiranjeevi) did not know how to run the train (party), Naidu ridiculed.
Though he was two hours behind schedule, the crowd waited patiently for him at several towns.

KCR promises Krishna water to Palamur

Grand Alliance leaders N.Chandrababu Naidu (TDP), K.Chandrasekhara Rao (TRS), and K.Narayana (CPI) at the second and final Mahakutami public meeting
VV Balakrishna
First Published : 10 Apr 2009 03:46:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 10 Apr 2009 10:36:20 AM IST

MAHABOOBNAGAR: In the absence of his own party manifesto, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrasekhara Rao devoted much time to explaining the salient features of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) manifesto at the second and final joint meeting of the Grand Alliance held here today.

While Rao frequently referred to TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu as “Babu Garu’’, Naidu appealed to voters to vote for Chandrasekhara Rao.

The TRS chief explained the Cash Transfer Scheme (CTS) and the promise of colour TVs -- the two main highlights of the TDP manifesto -- at a wellattended public meeting at the Boys Jr College grounds in town. All too aware that his chances in the Mahaboobnagar Lok Sabha contest hinged crucially on the TDP’s strong vote bank, Rao was careful to heap praise on Naidu again today, and drew loud applause when he described the latter as a future chief minister.

And Naidu responded by saying: “Both of us will develop Mahaboobnagar.’’ The TRS chief repeatedly praised TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s nine-year rule as one that witnessed “all-round develompent’’, adding: “YS Rajasekhara Reddy, who stepped into Naidu’s shoes, only used the wealth created by the latter for corruption.’’ Of course, it is another matter that before joining hands with the TDP, Rao used to pour nothing but scorn on Naidu and the TDP.

Charging AICC president Sonia Gandhi with hoodwinking the people of Telangana, Rao said he had now reposed faith in the TDP. “Respecting the sentiments of the people of Telangana, the TDP politburo adopted a resolution to fulfil all constitutional requirements needed for a separate State,’’ he said.

The TRS chief assured voters that if he was elected he would mobilise around Rs 3,000 crore in funds from the Centre to bring Krishna waters to the district. “I will solve all your problems with the help of Babu garu,’’ Rao assured.

For his part, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu said all irrigation projects in the district would be completed. He assured four percent reservations to Muslims, 20 kg free rice, an exclusive bank for youth with a corpus of Rs 2,000 crore and PRC with 40 per cent fitment for government employees.

Terming the Congress corrupt and Praja Rajyam inefficient, Naidu said both were equally dangerous for democracy and he dared them to tell the people CTS was not required.

“CTS has created panic among Congress leaders,’’ he maintained.

CPI State secretary K Narayana, CPM State secretariat member Veeraiah and candidates of both TDP and TRS were present

150 assembly, 27 LS seats for Congress

Express News Service
First Published : 08 Apr 2009 03:43:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 08 Apr 2009 01:12:12 PM IST

HYDERABAD: A pre-poll survey by HMTV, a Telugu news channel, predicts 135 to 150 Assembly seats for the Congress. The survey gave 90 to 100 Assembly seats to the Grand Alliance (TDP-TRS-CPM-CPI combine), between 40 and 50 seats to the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) and 12 to 16 seats to others.

As far as Lok Sabha seats were concerned, the survey predicted that the Congress would stand first in the State by getting 27 seats followed by 12 seats bagged by the Grand Alliance. The PRP would get two Lok Sabha seats and the MIM one, the survey predicted. The survey titled `Theerpu-2009’’ was conducted under the supervision of renowned social scientist Prof Haragopal for HMTV of Hyderabad Media House Limited.

Of the 294 Assembly segments in the State, which are going for polls in two phases on April 16 and 23, the survey was conducted in 279. The survey covered as many as 5,480 people from different walks of life and strata of society.

When the surveyors asked voters to indicate their choice for the Chief Minister’s post, 41 per cent voted for Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy followed by 29.5 per cent for Opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu and 19.8 per cent for Chiranjeevi.

However, in the Greater Hyderabad limits, 40 per cent wanted to see Chandrababu Naidu as the Chief Minister.

Rajasekhara Reddy emerged the number one in all other areas -- Rayalaseema, Krishna and the twin Godavari districts. However, Naidu was in the third place in Krishna and the twin Godavari districts where 44.9 per cent respondents wanted to see Rajasekhara Reddy again as the Chief Minister followed by 26.1 per cent who wanted to see Chiranjeevi take up the top job, while 19.6 per cent chose the TDP supremo.

Forty per cent opined that the Congress would win the elections, 26 per cent felt that the Grand Alliance would come to power and 16 per cent hoped that the PRP would come to power. However, the PRP got the highest votes in Krishna and the twin Godavari districts, where 22.9 per cent felt that the PRP would win the elections.

On the performance of the State Government, 12.4 per cent rated it very good, 24.1 per cent good and 31.5 per cent not bad. Only 18.3 per cent rated the performance as bad and 7.6 per cent rated it worst.

In all, only 30 per cent supported the Grand Alliance and 64 per cent opposed it. A majority of 75.7 per cent opposed the Grand Alliance in Krishna and the twin Godavari districts. The Grand Alliance got the highest support in South Andhra districts where 36.8 per cent supported it while it got the lowest support in Krishna and the twin Godavari districts with 17.6 per cent.

Rising prices were the main concern of 44.2 per cent respondents, while 18.5 per cent were worried about the corruption in the Congress rule.

Interestingly, 60 per cent voters did not believe in Chiranjeevi’s promises, while 62.2 per cent in North Telangana did not buy the BJP’s slogan of separate Telangana in 100 days.

TRS chief casts his spell on Palamur

VV Balakrishna
First Published : 07 Apr 2009 04:00:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 07 Apr 2009 09:48:42 AM IST

MAHABOOBNAGAR: “I don’t know when he will come. But I will wait. I want to hear him today,” Siva, an agricultural worker, says sipping his hot cup of chai. Seated under the shade of a road-side teastall in Marikal, a dusty village in Mahaboobnagar district, he chats with his friend and this correspondent as we all wait patiently in the hot weather for the arrival of the “messiah.” Siva has been waiting for almost two hours in the sweltering heat.At last, there is some commotion as the Sun goes down and another Son –– Telangana bidda –– TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao arrives.

Siva and others like him quickly gather around the T messenger.”Nenu ee Telangana mattilo puttina.

Telangana vasthene, Palamur ku manchi jaruguthadi,” KCR reminds them in his inimitable style. His oratory and rhetoric enthuses the crowd. All their weariness and the strain of long hours of waiting is forgotten in a jiffy. After listening to him, Siva is convinced that the TRS chief alone can deliver a separate State, which he believes, would usher in a sea-change in their lives.

Chandrasekhara Rao with his uncanny sense of worming his way into the hearts of the people is quickly building up a good base in Mahaboobnagar parliamentary constituency which is new to him. Helping him is the fact that voters here always support a new candidate in every election.

“Why shouldn’t we give a chance to a new leader?” asks Ramulu, a farmer, who was among the crowd. Though initially there were fears that KCR may not do well in Mahaboobnagar LS constituency because the separate Telangana movement is pronounced here, the situation is changing with each passing day.

People here are not bothered about criticism that he has migrated to Mahaboobangar unable to face voters in his Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency since he forced two elections between 2004 and now but did not bring Telangana.

His emotional statements may sound irrelevant to voters in Siddipet and Karimnagar, but such dialogues are touching the hearts of Mahaboonagar voters.

After hearing Rao, who uses the local dialect extensively, Ramanamma, a daily wager, has decided to vote for him this time.

The TRS chief has another advantage in Mahaboobnagar in the form of wellknit Telugu Desam cadres in the constituency.

Chandrasekhara Rao is confident that the Telangana sentiment, his oratorical skills plus the Telugu Desam support would help him win the electoral battle.

Justifying his confidence is Sailu, a traditional TDP voter. She says: “Now, both the parties are together. I will vote for the car this time.” Though, Praja Rajyam and BJP candidates are in the fray, Chandrasekhara Rao’s main rival is Congress sitting MP T Vithal Rao. Though, BJP has some presence, the voters believe KCR not Ramesh Reddy of the BJP can deliver a separate State.

“Of course, I want to see Advani as prime minister. But I will vote for TRS this time for Telangana’s sake,” Boya Ramulu, a hard-core BJP loyalist, says in Makhtal.

Nonetheless, the exuberance one associates with KCR’s campaign is missing here. The atmosphere is not ‘highly charged’ so to speak but several factors other Telangana are helping him. For instance, a large number of Muslims, who are a deciding factor, are keen on supporting Chandrasekhara Rao this time. The reason is not separate Telangana but anti-incumbency against Vittal Rao of the Congress.

“If the fight had been between Congress and the BJP. We would have definitely opted for Congress.

Now, we have an alternative.

A majority of the Muslims will vote for TRS this time,” Abdul Khadar, a vegetable vendor, explains.

Several Muslims too echo similar feelings.

Another factor working in favour of the TRS is that it is the only party that has given the maximum number of tickets to Muslims. The TRS gave Mahaboobnagar Assembly ticket to Ibrahim.

TDP rebel K Dayakar Reddy, who is in the fray against TRS’ M Sridhar Goud in Makthal, also supports Chandrasekhara Rao when it comes to the Lok Sabha LS.

As for his poll promises, he is no less than his friend Chandrababu Naidu. At one place, when voters demanded a degree college in Shadnagar, a junior college in Kundurg and a bus depot in Kodangal, Rao in his typical style, said, “all these works are very small things. I can solve such issues with just a phone call!” Rao explains to voters that he has solved drinking water problem in Siddipet and assures them that he would quench the thirst of Mahaboonagar town in a similar fashion. (Currently, people get piped water once in 15 days).

However, the cautious TRS chief reminds local scribes that though his victory is a foregone conclusion, he is not afraid of losing either.

Even a towering personality like M Chenna Reddy, lost once in Karimnagar after championing the T-cause and NTR too lost in Kalwakurthy.

At public meetings, he says he is contesting from Mahaboonagar at the request of TRS ideologue Jayashankar.

If Rao wins, the credit goes to himself. If he loses, will it be because of Jayashankar?

Parties dish out unfair deal to fair sex

V V Balakrishna
First Published : 02 Apr 2009 03:51:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 02 Apr 2009 12:59:18 PM IST

HYDERABAD: All the political parties in the State have adopted an unfair approach towards the fairer sex in the elections, if one goes by the list of the candidates finalised so far for the elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assembly.

Albeit their tall talk of providing 33 per cent reservations to women in legislative bodies and extending support to a Bill in the Parliament if women’s reservation bill is introduced, the major political parties, in practice, seem to be higly gender-biased.

The Congress is a shade better than others: it gave five Lok Sabha seats to women, including D Purandeswari, B Jhansi, Renuka Chowdury and Panabaka Lakshmi. Heroines R K Roja and Vijayasanti are in the Grand Alliance list.

The Congress fielded 33 women candidates instead of providing 33 per cent seats for the Assembly, while the TDP came with a poor 17 seats. There are four women in the TDP list for the Lok Sabha. The TRS fielded no woman for the Assembly but allotted only one Lok Sabha seat for Vijayasanti.

The Opposition TDP, which always reposed faith in women voters for victory, ignored them this time, as the party “cannot take risk” in the current elections as they are crucial for the party. The party searched for `winning horses’ but it did not include many women. The Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), the Lok Satta Party (LSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too gave less priority to women in the Assembly elections. The same is the case with the Left parties. Even if the parties have allotted tickets to women, they are either seasoned politicians or relatives of senior leaders. Very few women who are fresh to public life found a place in the lists of parties.

“When I approached the TDP for a ticket, a politburo member told me that the party could not take a risk this time,” an aspirant and former MLA Katragadda Prasuna said. In the 2004 elections, the TDP gave more number of seats to women. “The party leaders told me that they could not take a chance this time like in the 2004 elections,” Prasuna said. Reason? This was going to be a fiercely fought election and winning every Assembly seat was a must to form the next government.

“As the parties were hunting for winning horses, women candidates did not get tickets,” a TDP woman leader said.

The situation in the TRS is very strange. Not a single woman finds a place in the Pink party’s list for the Assembly.

The TRS has fielded only one woman candidate -- Vijayashanti -- for the Lok Sabha. “I too feel bad that not many women have got seats,” actress and TRS secretary general Vijayashanti said. “Due to alliances, women could not get many seats in the Grand Alliance,” she added.