Antyodaya to be BJP’s poll plank

Express News Service
Last Updated : 17 Dec 2011 10:32:30 AM IST

HYDERABAD: The BJP will go back to its basic political and economic philosophy propounded by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya with an aim to regain power in 2014 when the general election is due. The three-day fast organised by BJP secretary P Muralidhar Rao, which concluded here on Friday, was the beginning of implementing the Upadhyaya’s philosophy to woo artisans and weaker sections in the country.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who addressed the concluding meeting at fast camp, said: “Deendayal Upadhyaya said that the last man in the society too should get food, shelter and clothes. Then only can our dream to see a developed India be realised.”

Stressing the need for implementation of the principle of Antyodaya, which stands for eradication of poverty and provision of basic needs of every family, Gadkari said only Antyodaya could correct the current imbalances in the country.

By chanting the Antyodaya of Uapadhyaya, Gadkari also recalled Mahatma Gandhi’s words that development of the country was possible only with the development of villages.

“Gandhi wanted maximum production employing maximum number of persons. But Jawaharlal Nehru pressed for maximum production ignoring the employment aspect,” Gadkari said while rejecting the Nehruvian model of economy.

“I am congratulating Muralidhara Rao on undertaking a three-day fast for the betterment of weavers. This is just a trailer. The full movie will be released soon,” Gadkari said, while indicating that Upadhyaya’s philosophy would be the guiding force for the BJP.

“Do not make rounds to Delhi to get party tickets. BJP is not here to see a particular person as MP, PM or CM. It is here to bring about a change in society. Go to the poor and work for them. Then only will the party recognise you,” he told party leaders.

Asserting that the NDA would regain power in 2014, Gadkari wanted the people of state to choose between the UPA and the NDA.

“There are only two forces in national politics _ UPA and NDA. You decide whether you will support the corrupt Congress or dynamic BJP,” Gadkari said and alleged that the Congress had been looting the country and even Hyderabad was not spared.

Muralidhar Rao said that his fast for weavers was just a beginning and it would be continued in future to implement Deendayal’s Antyodaya. “BJP is dedicated to the welfare of weaker sections and artisans,” he added.

Sometime back, Gadkari had attended a programme organised by Muralidhar Rao in Visakhapatnam on fishermen. The current three-day fast for weavers was a success as a large number of weavers and others thronged the venue on the concluding day.

Several senior BJP leaders including Nirmala Sitaraman, Parliament member Balbir Punj, vice-president Purushottam Rupala, senior leaders Bandaru Dattatreya and K Laxman, state unit president G Kishan Reddy, Tamil Nadu unit president Ponnu Radhakrishnan, and Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitely were present.

With 17 more MLAs, Jagan laughs last

Jagan in a jubiliant mood.
VV Balakrishna
Express News Service
Last Updated : 11 Dec 2011 09:17:29 AM IST

CHENNAI: The Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-backed  no confidence motion may not have toppled the government, but the rebel has emerged as the real winner. Everyone knew that N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s government would defeat the motion, but nobody expected that the  victory would come at the cost of 17 MLAs.

The very next day, Jagan addressed a news conference, hailing the decision of the MLAs as historic. He was very upbeat over landing 17 MLAs and went on to challenge the Congress to disqualify all of them at one go. “Both the Congress and TDP candidates would lose their deposits in the by-elections,” he said.

Jagan further added that, “There is no opposition in the state. The ruling Congress was deviating from Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s agenda. So, the YSRC will win all the seats with a record majority.”

Despite the ongoing CBI probe into his assets, Jagan was pulling huge crowds during his Odarpu Yatra (to console the kin of those died of shock after the sudden demise of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy).

Now, the task before Jagan is to prove that he is a strong force in the state. He should ensure victory for all his 17 MLAs. If Congress and TDP wins any seat, Jagan’s popularity would be at stake. As of now, the Jagan camp is confident that they would sweep the elections and all the 16 Congress MLAs would re-enter the Assembly on YSRC ticket. But others think that it might not be a cake walk for Jagan Mohan Reddy. “It is a triangle contest. Anything may happen,” observed a TDP leader. The moot question is, will Jagan deliver the goods to his loyalist MLAs?

Bypolls: TDP assessing Its prospects

VV Balakrishna
Express News Service
Last Updated : 13 Dec 2011 08:20:07 AM IST

HYDERABAD: As the Congress is preparing to disqualify 16 of its MLAs who voted against its government on the no-confidence motion in the Assembly on December 5, by-elections for about 25 Assembly seats in the state will be held in due course. Already, seven seats are vacant in the Assembly.

The Telugu Desam, the main opposition party, is considering the by-elections as a ‘wmini-general election’ to test its popularity and prepare itself for the 2014 general election. As such, it has started assessing its electoral prospects. Its think-tank estimates that the party will wrest some seats from the ruling party in the Andhra region and check the surge of YSR Congress chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

The TDP has been wary of contesting by-elections ever since it lost the recent by-elections by huge margins. It suffered humiliating defeats in the Telangana region last year when by-elections were held for 12 Assembly seats. Initially, party chief N Chandrababu Naidu did not favour the party contest the by-polls which were fought on the Telangana plank but relented at the last minute under pressure from some leaders from the region. Result: All TDP candidates lost their deposits.

Later, this year, by-elections were held for the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula Assembly seats. Though not sure of victory, the party fielded its candidates in both the constituencies, which are the strongholds of YSR’s family, as a policy to oppose the YSRC’s corruption. The party lost the two seats by huge margins. Its candidate was pushed to the third place in Pulivendula.

The outcome of the two by-elections made the main opposition party despondent and introspect on its strengths and weaknesses. Said a party leader: “We do not know whether to contest by-elections or not. It will be a tricky situation either if we enter or keep off a by-poll battle.”

Some senior leaders are, however, of the view that YS Jagan was thoroughly exposed by the CBI probe and his public image got a beating. “If voters are guided by local issues like caste, candidate’s profile and corruption, the TDP will be in an advantage,” said a leader from Telangana.

“In a triangular contest, the Congress’ votes will be divided between Congress and YSRC. The division of Congress votes will be an advantage to TDP. There is no Jagan or YSR wave in Andhra now,” claimed K Sivaprasada Rao.

But, Telangana continues to be a lump in TDP’s throat. It is in such a helpless situation that it is still struggling to find potential candidates to contest elections. “We have no candidates for Mahaboobnagar, Kollapur and Nagarkurnool seats,” admitted an MLA from the region.

Will better Vaastu bring better days for Naidu?

VV Balakrishna
Express News Service
Last Updated : 12 Dec 2011 10:39:20 AM IST

HYDERABAD: Vaastu changes to NTR Bhavan, the Telugu Desam’s headquarters here, have almost been completed nearly three months after they were initiated. The irresistible question now being asked by political watchers is whether the ‘better Vaastu’ will bail out TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu from the CBI probe and help him regain power in 2014.

Party founder NT Ramarao’s son and cine actor N Balakrishna was the one who suggested to Naidu that some changes to the building were imperative if Lady Luck was to smile on the party and its chief. His advice came at a time the party was smarting under a series of defeats in the general elections and by-elections. He even brought some Vaastu experts in September this year and had the necessary changes made to the party office.

On Sunday, Balakrishna, accompanied by party leader Sujana Chowdary, Vaastu expert and chief executive officer of NTR Memorial Trust M Venkat, inspected the changes and expressed satisfaction over the changes, sources said.

As per the suggestions of the Vaastu expert, the party demolished the existing security guard room and constructed a new one at the main entrance of NTR Bhavan.

The old entrance was closed and a new one was constructed a few feet away from the old one.

Ironically, it was after the Vaastu changes were initiated in September, Naidu’s rival and YSR Congress honorary president YS Vijayalakshmi filed a petition in the High Court which ordered a CBI probe into the assets of Naidu and his family members.

It was not the first time for Naidu to make Vaastu changes to NTR Bhavan. He made several changes to it after the 2009 elections.


GRAPHIC
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Vaastu Dosha
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TDP won one election and lost two since NTR Bhavan was built in 1997

Changes made
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New entry gate in place of two main entrance gates which were closed

The pat to a nearby shopping complex already closed

Plants behind the old security guard already removed

Minor changes and facelift to building in progress

Balakrishna
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Cine actor Balakrishna was the one who suggested to Naidu that some changes to the building were needed if Lady Luck was to smile on the party and its chief

--
New Hopes
---
Naidu will come clean from CBI probe

TDP will regain power in 2014

No-trust vote: TDP hits two birds with one shot

Express News Service
Last Updated : 07 Dec 2011 11:19:35 AM IST

HYDERABAD: It was like hitting two birds with one shot for the main opposition party. The Telugu Desam used the no-trust motion to trap its political opponents _ Congress and YSR Congress.

After the no-trust vote, though TDP lost it by a considerable margin, the Congress' effective own strength in the Assembly has come down to 136. The ruling party was apparently weak and depended on the crutches provided by the PRP and MIM, the TDP noted.

On the other hand, the TDP proved that YSRC also became weak after the CBI probe against YS Jagan. "Jagan said the Congress government was at his mercy and claimed the support of 50 Congress MLAs. But, where is the YSRC now?" opposition leader Chandrababu Naidu asked.

After the vote, the YSRC leaders said that Naidu talked less on farmers and spent most of the time rebuking YS Rajasekhara Reddy, YS Jagan and YSRC. "If I talked less on farmers and criticised YSR, then why did the YSRC vote in favour of our notrust motion?" retorted Naidu.

Now, Naidu can go to the people and prove he was the only champion of farmers' cause and that was why the YSRC supported him.

"We are ready for by-elections whenever they are held," he said. The by-polls could help the TDP gauge the pulse of voters in the triangular contests and gear up for the 2014 elections, especially in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

"Voters are not innocent. They do not tolerate corrupt leaders," Naidu said and described the no-trust motion was a slap in the face of the ruling party.

TDP leaders observed that YSRC's lone MLA, YS Vijayamma, could have moved a no-trust motion to spare YSR loyalist MLAs the embarrassment of supporting a motion moved by their betenoir. "Ultimately, Jagan walked into our trap. He will be trapped in our political games in future too," a confident-sounding TDP leader remarked.

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