VV Balakrishna
First Published : 08 May 2010 04:41:00 AM IST
Last Updated :
HYDERABAD: The death of bete noire YS Rajasekhara Reddy, has brought about a sea change in the routine of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrbabu Naidu who is into his second successive term as leader of the Opposition.
Freed from the compulsion to launch or parry diatribes, he is focusing on strengthening his party at grass-roots level. Naidu comes to NTR Bhavan daily in the morning and meets cadres, leaders and people in general to apprise himself of local problems which he directs respective district party seniors to follow up.
``The interactive programme (Ishta gosti) is a very good concept. This way the party chief keeps abreast of ground-level situations,’’ maintains TDP politburo member K Yerran Naidu.
Naidu also tries to strike a rapport with second-rung cadres by inquiring about their personal problems and financial status and giving advice when he can. And the NTR Memorial Trust provides some help to party workers with self-employment schemes. It recently conducted a counselling session for more than 1,000 cadres in this regard.
“If party workers start their own business, they can do moderately well. After a year, sincere workers can help out by contributing their mite to the party from income generated through honest means,’’ a functionary said.
The idea was mooted by Naidu whose family also runs the Heritage business involved in dairy products and pickles.
“It is rare to see second-rung leaders sitting face to face with a party chief.
Naidu has really brought about a big change,’’ says Karnataka State TDP president Venkatesappa.
The honcho is also keen to tour the districts and mingle with the people.
But given his ambiguity over the burning issue of Telangana it has to be seen how the visits are received.
Critics, however, have been quick to decry Naidu’s newfound enthusiasm for grass roots party-building as nothing but evasion of the central issue of State politics today.
Sunday, 1 August 2010
‘Jai Telangana’ vs ‘TRS, go back’
VV Balakrishna
First Published : 14 May 2010 04:26:45 AM IST
Last Updated : 14 May 2010 09:09:37 AM IST
NALGONDA: As expected, leader of the opposition N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telangana tour has been marred by protests.
Around 10 TRS workers waved party flags and banners at the Miryalaguda market yard in the district where Naidu addressed farmers. They also raised the slogan, `Jai Telangana’.
Police whisked them away from the dais.
According to sources, the Nalgonda police took several TRS leaders, particularly the T-JAC leaders in the district, into preventive custody to prevent any untoward incidents in view of Naidu’s tour. The preventive arrests helped Naidu complete his tour without any glitch.
An angry Naidu shouted back at the TRS protesters: ``Go back, TRS. It is not good to disturb the meeting which is intended to know the plight of paddy farmers.’’ TDP’s Telangana leaders too were fighting for the cause of Telangana, he told them.
Talking with reporters in Nalgonda later in the evening, Naidu charged the TRS with disturbing the meeting of another political party.
``What will you do if we disturb your meetings?’’ he questioned TRS leaders.
Staging demonstrations by one political party at the meetings of other political parties was unethical, the Telugu Desam chief said.
When a TV channel reporter told Naidu that they (TRS) were Telanganites and they raised slogans against Naidu, he said, pointing to senior TDP leaders at the press meet, that they too were Telanganites.
The TD chief, in his typical style, asked the TV reporter whether he came from Raj News, which is supported by the TRS.
The reporter reminded Naidu that he too owned Studio N. Replying to this Naidu said that owning a news channel was no wrong but they had to respect each other. ``We have respect for reporters of other channels.
But, if the situation demands, we will boycott some channels owned by political parties,’’ he said. ``Other channels are free to boycott the TDP too,’’ he hastened to add.
First Published : 14 May 2010 04:26:45 AM IST
Last Updated : 14 May 2010 09:09:37 AM IST
NALGONDA: As expected, leader of the opposition N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telangana tour has been marred by protests.
Around 10 TRS workers waved party flags and banners at the Miryalaguda market yard in the district where Naidu addressed farmers. They also raised the slogan, `Jai Telangana’.
Police whisked them away from the dais.
According to sources, the Nalgonda police took several TRS leaders, particularly the T-JAC leaders in the district, into preventive custody to prevent any untoward incidents in view of Naidu’s tour. The preventive arrests helped Naidu complete his tour without any glitch.
An angry Naidu shouted back at the TRS protesters: ``Go back, TRS. It is not good to disturb the meeting which is intended to know the plight of paddy farmers.’’ TDP’s Telangana leaders too were fighting for the cause of Telangana, he told them.
Talking with reporters in Nalgonda later in the evening, Naidu charged the TRS with disturbing the meeting of another political party.
``What will you do if we disturb your meetings?’’ he questioned TRS leaders.
Staging demonstrations by one political party at the meetings of other political parties was unethical, the Telugu Desam chief said.
When a TV channel reporter told Naidu that they (TRS) were Telanganites and they raised slogans against Naidu, he said, pointing to senior TDP leaders at the press meet, that they too were Telanganites.
The TD chief, in his typical style, asked the TV reporter whether he came from Raj News, which is supported by the TRS.
The reporter reminded Naidu that he too owned Studio N. Replying to this Naidu said that owning a news channel was no wrong but they had to respect each other. ``We have respect for reporters of other channels.
But, if the situation demands, we will boycott some channels owned by political parties,’’ he said. ``Other channels are free to boycott the TDP too,’’ he hastened to add.
TRS trying ploy to pin EC to paper
VV Balakrishna
First Published : 02 Jul 2010 07:25:57 AM IST
Last Updated :
HYDERABAD: Telangana protagonists are planning to contest in the byelections to 12 Assembly segments in the region in large numbers at the behest of Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhara Rao to thwart the attempts of the Election Commission (EC) to use EVMs.
The machines can handle 64 candidates at most, and a number in excess of this would entail recourse to ballot paper.
It may be recalled that TRS had lodged a complaint with the EC recently that the use of EVMs posed a threat to the winning chances of TRS candidates.
The result, it is feared, could be tampered with as one could vote through a mobile phone from outside the polling booth if s/he ``knew the programme of EVM’’.
It is too late for the party to take legal recourse over its apprehensions as the schedule has already been announced and the EC has made it clear it wants to use the machines.
The only way to stymie the EC in this respect is to put up over 64 candidates in the fray. This is because the EVMs accommodate only 64 entries.
On Wednesday, TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao discussed the strategy with close aides.
He said ballot papers gave the voter a chance to c r o s s c h e c k whether s/he had indicated his choice correctly.
Should the TRS and Telangana protagonists succeed, the EC will have the Herculean task of printing newspaper- size ballot papers. It may be recalled that such ballot papers had been used some time ago in Nalgonda when leaders of the Jala Sadhana Samithi leaders filed nominations en masse pressing their demand for potable water.
First Published : 02 Jul 2010 07:25:57 AM IST
Last Updated :
HYDERABAD: Telangana protagonists are planning to contest in the byelections to 12 Assembly segments in the region in large numbers at the behest of Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhara Rao to thwart the attempts of the Election Commission (EC) to use EVMs.
The machines can handle 64 candidates at most, and a number in excess of this would entail recourse to ballot paper.
It may be recalled that TRS had lodged a complaint with the EC recently that the use of EVMs posed a threat to the winning chances of TRS candidates.
The result, it is feared, could be tampered with as one could vote through a mobile phone from outside the polling booth if s/he ``knew the programme of EVM’’.
It is too late for the party to take legal recourse over its apprehensions as the schedule has already been announced and the EC has made it clear it wants to use the machines.
The only way to stymie the EC in this respect is to put up over 64 candidates in the fray. This is because the EVMs accommodate only 64 entries.
On Wednesday, TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao discussed the strategy with close aides.
He said ballot papers gave the voter a chance to c r o s s c h e c k whether s/he had indicated his choice correctly.
Should the TRS and Telangana protagonists succeed, the EC will have the Herculean task of printing newspaper- size ballot papers. It may be recalled that such ballot papers had been used some time ago in Nalgonda when leaders of the Jala Sadhana Samithi leaders filed nominations en masse pressing their demand for potable water.
Babu, partymen arrested on way to Babhali
VV Balakrishna
First Published : 17 Jul 2010 06:47:46 AM IST
Last Updated : 17 Jul 2010 03:13:43 PM IST
BASARA (adilabad Dt): The high voltage drama, which began on Friday afternoon at Dharmabad on the Maharashtra-AP border with the arrest of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and a host of his partymen, while they were on their way to the Babhali irrigation project, continued till late into the night with the yellow brigade refusing to return home without visiting the controversial site.
When reports last came in, Naidu was still in the custody of the Maharashtra police. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan spoke to him and made it clear that he wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near Babhali even if he stayed in the State for three-four days. Home Minister RR Patil too told the TDP chief that he wasn’t welcome. A war-like situation prevailed on the Andhra-Maharashtra border since morning itself, with a large number of policemen from both the states deployed to prevent people from crossing over. Despite Chief Minister K Rosaiah’s advice against visiting Babhali, Naidu was determined to expose the “illegal” nature of the Maharashtra projects and reached the border.
He and his colleagues were arrested by the Maharashtra police when they crossed the border, which is just six km from Basara and 12 km from Babhali. Naidu along with 74 other TDP leaders were taken to Dharmabad police station and from thence, to the ITI palace. Anticipating trouble, the Maharashtra police sealed the borders on Thursday night itself and clamped Section 144 in the area besides deploying a Quick Response Team
Thousands of farmers from Maharashtra too set out for the border upon hearing news of the TDP chief’s plans. However, the police stopped them at some distance. Both sides raised slogans like Babhali Bachao and Babhali Roko.
Nanded MP Bhaskar Rao Patil (Cong) and local MLA from Nayagar Vasanta Rao (Cong) reached the spot early in the day and monitored the developments with local police to prevent the TDP team. A large number of activists of Babhali Bandara Kruit Samithi, an organisation demanding immediate construction of Babhali also gathered there. Nanded Inspector General (IG) SP Yadav informed Naidu that they would not allow the TDP delegation to see the Babhali project. Naidu and other leaders told the IG that Andhra-Maharashtra border was not an Indo-Pak border or Indo-China border and they should not be prevented from visiting Babhali.
"Speak to your Chief Minister and let us visit Babhali,'' the TDP leaders told the Maharashtra police. With no clearance forthcoming, the TDP delegation squatted on the Andhra side of the border.
Naidu told the gatherng::"I want to see the latest situation at Babhali and report the matter to the Prime Minister.'' As Maharashtra denied permission even to a five-member delegation to visit Babhali, Naidu along with several MPs and MLAs removed the barricade and walked into the Maharashtra border.
Maharashtra police immediately arrested them and took them to Dharmabad police station.
First Published : 17 Jul 2010 06:47:46 AM IST
Last Updated : 17 Jul 2010 03:13:43 PM IST
BASARA (adilabad Dt): The high voltage drama, which began on Friday afternoon at Dharmabad on the Maharashtra-AP border with the arrest of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and a host of his partymen, while they were on their way to the Babhali irrigation project, continued till late into the night with the yellow brigade refusing to return home without visiting the controversial site.
When reports last came in, Naidu was still in the custody of the Maharashtra police. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan spoke to him and made it clear that he wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near Babhali even if he stayed in the State for three-four days. Home Minister RR Patil too told the TDP chief that he wasn’t welcome. A war-like situation prevailed on the Andhra-Maharashtra border since morning itself, with a large number of policemen from both the states deployed to prevent people from crossing over. Despite Chief Minister K Rosaiah’s advice against visiting Babhali, Naidu was determined to expose the “illegal” nature of the Maharashtra projects and reached the border.
He and his colleagues were arrested by the Maharashtra police when they crossed the border, which is just six km from Basara and 12 km from Babhali. Naidu along with 74 other TDP leaders were taken to Dharmabad police station and from thence, to the ITI palace. Anticipating trouble, the Maharashtra police sealed the borders on Thursday night itself and clamped Section 144 in the area besides deploying a Quick Response Team
Thousands of farmers from Maharashtra too set out for the border upon hearing news of the TDP chief’s plans. However, the police stopped them at some distance. Both sides raised slogans like Babhali Bachao and Babhali Roko.
Nanded MP Bhaskar Rao Patil (Cong) and local MLA from Nayagar Vasanta Rao (Cong) reached the spot early in the day and monitored the developments with local police to prevent the TDP team. A large number of activists of Babhali Bandara Kruit Samithi, an organisation demanding immediate construction of Babhali also gathered there. Nanded Inspector General (IG) SP Yadav informed Naidu that they would not allow the TDP delegation to see the Babhali project. Naidu and other leaders told the IG that Andhra-Maharashtra border was not an Indo-Pak border or Indo-China border and they should not be prevented from visiting Babhali.
"Speak to your Chief Minister and let us visit Babhali,'' the TDP leaders told the Maharashtra police. With no clearance forthcoming, the TDP delegation squatted on the Andhra side of the border.
Naidu told the gatherng::"I want to see the latest situation at Babhali and report the matter to the Prime Minister.'' As Maharashtra denied permission even to a five-member delegation to visit Babhali, Naidu along with several MPs and MLAs removed the barricade and walked into the Maharashtra border.
Maharashtra police immediately arrested them and took them to Dharmabad police station.
Dharmapuri: Tinge of pink in a town
VV Balakrishna
First Published : 23 Jul 2010 04:43:13 AM IST
Last Updated : 23 Jul 2010 11:34:04 AM IST
DHARMAPURI: TheGodavari is a disappointment here at Dharmapuri. Midway into the monsoon, the river flows at 2 ft around this town. One can easily cross the river on foot. People here say the river has not flown lower in 100 years.
This tiny town is famous for the temple of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. Pilgrims throng to it from far. At the height of the pilgrim season, the precinct teems with devotees at sunrise. Being the ashadha maasam, this is not the pilgrim season. There were hardly five devotees in the temple when the priest performed the day's first puja.
Elsewhere in town, there are few signs that a byelection is being fought here. The bus stand looked deserted, and the Godavari Road was bereft of any large banners, buntings or flags of any colour. Late into the morning, a lone car displaying a TRS pink flexi and blaring a Telangana ditty scuttled along. There was no one in the TDP and Congress election offices. Out in the countryside, the signs of an election were no more evident.
In Nerella village, a student, Srikanth succinctly explained Dharmapuri's indolence. "The Congress and the TDP are not spending any money because they know they'll lose. And the TRS is not spending any money because it knows it will win.'' Later in the day, the TDP candidate Nakka Narayana made his way into Nerella and began a speech. Villagers stopped milling about, gathered around and heard him politely. Villager Lakshmamma said as an aside, "You should have been here yesterday. There were so many more people for the Telangana party's meeting.''
Dharmapuri was once a stronghold of left-wing extremism. There are no naxalite action teams about but the ideology has left its mark on the people here. They dismiss queries about the TRS candidate, Koppula Eswar, saying it doesn't matter who it is as along as they get to make their point. Eswar is of course way ahead in garnering the martryrdom sweepstakes, having resigned his seat last year bowing to what is called the T Sentiment.
In comparison, the TDP candidate Nakka Narayana, a doctor, looks forlorn. No biggy from his party has joined him on the stump, being busy in the Babli drama elsewhere. TDP volunteers wistfully say the absence of Chandrababu Naidu has been a big set back, but locals offer a different take. Teacher Srinivas dismissed the proposition with a wave of his hand: "Babli was just an excuse for Naidu.''
Congress candidate A Lakshman Kumar, a last time loser to the TRS' Eswar, has not been better served than his TDP counterpart in terms of help from the big guns of his party. So, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has been the only star campaigner who has graced Dharmapuri in this election season, the first time he has deigned to do so. On the banks of the low Godavari, a villager expressed his hope for the new state. "In a separate Telangana, we will get our share of the water, and Godavari will flow high again.''
First Published : 23 Jul 2010 04:43:13 AM IST
Last Updated : 23 Jul 2010 11:34:04 AM IST
DHARMAPURI: TheGodavari is a disappointment here at Dharmapuri. Midway into the monsoon, the river flows at 2 ft around this town. One can easily cross the river on foot. People here say the river has not flown lower in 100 years.
This tiny town is famous for the temple of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. Pilgrims throng to it from far. At the height of the pilgrim season, the precinct teems with devotees at sunrise. Being the ashadha maasam, this is not the pilgrim season. There were hardly five devotees in the temple when the priest performed the day's first puja.
Elsewhere in town, there are few signs that a byelection is being fought here. The bus stand looked deserted, and the Godavari Road was bereft of any large banners, buntings or flags of any colour. Late into the morning, a lone car displaying a TRS pink flexi and blaring a Telangana ditty scuttled along. There was no one in the TDP and Congress election offices. Out in the countryside, the signs of an election were no more evident.
In Nerella village, a student, Srikanth succinctly explained Dharmapuri's indolence. "The Congress and the TDP are not spending any money because they know they'll lose. And the TRS is not spending any money because it knows it will win.'' Later in the day, the TDP candidate Nakka Narayana made his way into Nerella and began a speech. Villagers stopped milling about, gathered around and heard him politely. Villager Lakshmamma said as an aside, "You should have been here yesterday. There were so many more people for the Telangana party's meeting.''
Dharmapuri was once a stronghold of left-wing extremism. There are no naxalite action teams about but the ideology has left its mark on the people here. They dismiss queries about the TRS candidate, Koppula Eswar, saying it doesn't matter who it is as along as they get to make their point. Eswar is of course way ahead in garnering the martryrdom sweepstakes, having resigned his seat last year bowing to what is called the T Sentiment.
In comparison, the TDP candidate Nakka Narayana, a doctor, looks forlorn. No biggy from his party has joined him on the stump, being busy in the Babli drama elsewhere. TDP volunteers wistfully say the absence of Chandrababu Naidu has been a big set back, but locals offer a different take. Teacher Srinivas dismissed the proposition with a wave of his hand: "Babli was just an excuse for Naidu.''
Congress candidate A Lakshman Kumar, a last time loser to the TRS' Eswar, has not been better served than his TDP counterpart in terms of help from the big guns of his party. So, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has been the only star campaigner who has graced Dharmapuri in this election season, the first time he has deigned to do so. On the banks of the low Godavari, a villager expressed his hope for the new state. "In a separate Telangana, we will get our share of the water, and Godavari will flow high again.''
'They can have our sympathy. Not sentiment'
V V Balakrishna
First Published : 25 Jul 2010 03:49:21 AM IST
Last Updated : 25 Jul 2010 11:13:47 AM IST
SIRCILLA: In Sircilla, before answering any questions on the byelection, they ask you where you're from. If from Telangana, a smile breaks out and an instant connect is established. The smile says we're kindred. If from coastal Andhra, they take pains to assure you that people from the coast are nice and welcome to stay here, except that elected rep who made such a spectacle of himself on TV back in December last year.
Sircilla is a weaving town, notorious for the suicides of weavers until a few years ago. The suicides have abated but signs of the distress are still evident in the hand-to-mouth wages paid to workmen and in the alcoholism rampant among debt-ridden masters. Fine cloth yarn is woven here, but people throng to the pavement shops in the bazaar by the bus stand to purchase cheap polyester cloth brought in by traders from Maharashtra.
To appearances, Sircilla is a bustling town but jobless young men hang around at small businesses running errands. At the periphery of town, farmers bemoan the futility of tilling for there's no water for the crops. The buses are good but there could be more services to Bidar, Nanded and other addas for migrant workers from here.
In other words, there's plenty here for bypoll candidates to fight over. But this election is not about problems. It is about Telangana. No candidate is badgered about bijli, sadak and pani. They are all asked only one question: When will Telangana come?
Affecting distaste, Veeresam Goud, a daily wager, asks, "Why are these fellows campaigning at all?'' Chips in his fellow worker Anjanna, "We should not allow them to campaign. It is our mistake.'' The subjects of their impatience are the Congress and the TDP. The import of their impatience is that the Big Two parties are wasting their time. The post has been taken. Nonetheless, the three main candidates are working up a little dust here. All three of them are pulling long faces in order to get what is called the sympathy vote. Each of them has a different claim to it.
First, the favourite, K T Rama Rao is playing the Telangana martyr who renounced his hard-won Assembly seat in December when the constituents bid him do it.
In the last election in April 2009, K T Rama Rao was seen as something of a milksop compared to his mercurial Dad, combative cousin Harish Rao and winsome sister Kavitha.
He scraped through by 171 votes, which, for a prince of the TRS, was considered as good as a drubbing. But since his renunciatory act, he’s won himself a decent claim to the S vote.
Congress candidate K Mahender Reddy’s claim to the bechara vote arises from that very electoral skirmish. Last time, as an Independent - albeit supported by Congress strategists - he almost bested the TRS yuvraj.
So he can tug some heart strings too.
And then, the TDP candidate Putta Kishore says he deserves a little S because his party leaders went uninvited to the Maharashtra border and tested the mettle of police lathis in that state last week.
But this bypoll is not about Sympathy, it is about Sentiment. As A Lingam Goud, a student, puts it voters are not interested in any factor other than separate statehood for Telangana.
“The TDP and Congress candidates are both good men. They can have our sympathy but not our sentiment.’’
First Published : 25 Jul 2010 03:49:21 AM IST
Last Updated : 25 Jul 2010 11:13:47 AM IST
SIRCILLA: In Sircilla, before answering any questions on the byelection, they ask you where you're from. If from Telangana, a smile breaks out and an instant connect is established. The smile says we're kindred. If from coastal Andhra, they take pains to assure you that people from the coast are nice and welcome to stay here, except that elected rep who made such a spectacle of himself on TV back in December last year.
Sircilla is a weaving town, notorious for the suicides of weavers until a few years ago. The suicides have abated but signs of the distress are still evident in the hand-to-mouth wages paid to workmen and in the alcoholism rampant among debt-ridden masters. Fine cloth yarn is woven here, but people throng to the pavement shops in the bazaar by the bus stand to purchase cheap polyester cloth brought in by traders from Maharashtra.
To appearances, Sircilla is a bustling town but jobless young men hang around at small businesses running errands. At the periphery of town, farmers bemoan the futility of tilling for there's no water for the crops. The buses are good but there could be more services to Bidar, Nanded and other addas for migrant workers from here.
In other words, there's plenty here for bypoll candidates to fight over. But this election is not about problems. It is about Telangana. No candidate is badgered about bijli, sadak and pani. They are all asked only one question: When will Telangana come?
Affecting distaste, Veeresam Goud, a daily wager, asks, "Why are these fellows campaigning at all?'' Chips in his fellow worker Anjanna, "We should not allow them to campaign. It is our mistake.'' The subjects of their impatience are the Congress and the TDP. The import of their impatience is that the Big Two parties are wasting their time. The post has been taken. Nonetheless, the three main candidates are working up a little dust here. All three of them are pulling long faces in order to get what is called the sympathy vote. Each of them has a different claim to it.
First, the favourite, K T Rama Rao is playing the Telangana martyr who renounced his hard-won Assembly seat in December when the constituents bid him do it.
In the last election in April 2009, K T Rama Rao was seen as something of a milksop compared to his mercurial Dad, combative cousin Harish Rao and winsome sister Kavitha.
He scraped through by 171 votes, which, for a prince of the TRS, was considered as good as a drubbing. But since his renunciatory act, he’s won himself a decent claim to the S vote.
Congress candidate K Mahender Reddy’s claim to the bechara vote arises from that very electoral skirmish. Last time, as an Independent - albeit supported by Congress strategists - he almost bested the TRS yuvraj.
So he can tug some heart strings too.
And then, the TDP candidate Putta Kishore says he deserves a little S because his party leaders went uninvited to the Maharashtra border and tested the mettle of police lathis in that state last week.
But this bypoll is not about Sympathy, it is about Sentiment. As A Lingam Goud, a student, puts it voters are not interested in any factor other than separate statehood for Telangana.
“The TDP and Congress candidates are both good men. They can have our sympathy but not our sentiment.’’
Monday, 12 July 2010
TDP: One eye here, one eye there
Going into this byelection, the TDP sounds a lot like the Lok Satta Party. It talks of `bigger’ problems such as development, Babhali project, weavers’ suicides, price rise, corruption. As an insider said, when a party fields `symbolic’ candidates such as Telangana suicide victims’ relatives, it means it is playing for the media coverage rather than the sweepstakes.
It is uncertain what the Telangana voter’s reaction to the Chandrababu Naidu’s sophistry will be. His two-eyes policy has left Telangana TDP leaders walking a tightrope. The moot question is whether the TDP will be able to convince voters that the TDP alone can fight for their `real’ problems.
Privately, TDP leaders admit that Sentiment is much stronger now than in earlier elections. In a candid admission, a TDP potential nominee said Telangana was the only issue in this byelection.
The ray of hope for him is that other issues may tilt the balance in his favour in the threecornered contest.
TDP chief Naidu will tell voters that Telangana witnessed rapid progress only during his nine-year tenure as chief minister. He will blame the Congress for the illegal construction of the Babhali project in Maharashtra and how SRSP, the main source of water for northern Telangana, dried up due to the ineffeciency of the Congress.
Naidu will enumerate the TDP’s efforts as an opposition party in dealing with issues related to Telangana. The TDP alone has waged a war against the illegal construction of Babhali since 2005. The TDP fought against printing the skull symbol on beedi rolls, the plight of Gulf victims, the weavers’ plight, etc.
Two-eyed Naidu’s difficulty in this byelection is that one of his eyes is perforce cocked to Coastal Andhra.
However, Naidu is a clever poll manager and will look to score some important points for his party. He will do his hard work on getting the caste equations right. The hope for the TDP lies in the fact that the PRP, the spoiler in 2009, is not in the fray now. Plus, the TDP has a strong cadre base in the region.
All said and done, the cards are stacked against TDP and it remains to be seen whether the TDP will be able to retain its Vemulavada seat at least.
- VV Balakrishna
It is uncertain what the Telangana voter’s reaction to the Chandrababu Naidu’s sophistry will be. His two-eyes policy has left Telangana TDP leaders walking a tightrope. The moot question is whether the TDP will be able to convince voters that the TDP alone can fight for their `real’ problems.
Privately, TDP leaders admit that Sentiment is much stronger now than in earlier elections. In a candid admission, a TDP potential nominee said Telangana was the only issue in this byelection.
The ray of hope for him is that other issues may tilt the balance in his favour in the threecornered contest.
TDP chief Naidu will tell voters that Telangana witnessed rapid progress only during his nine-year tenure as chief minister. He will blame the Congress for the illegal construction of the Babhali project in Maharashtra and how SRSP, the main source of water for northern Telangana, dried up due to the ineffeciency of the Congress.
Naidu will enumerate the TDP’s efforts as an opposition party in dealing with issues related to Telangana. The TDP alone has waged a war against the illegal construction of Babhali since 2005. The TDP fought against printing the skull symbol on beedi rolls, the plight of Gulf victims, the weavers’ plight, etc.
Two-eyed Naidu’s difficulty in this byelection is that one of his eyes is perforce cocked to Coastal Andhra.
However, Naidu is a clever poll manager and will look to score some important points for his party. He will do his hard work on getting the caste equations right. The hope for the TDP lies in the fact that the PRP, the spoiler in 2009, is not in the fray now. Plus, the TDP has a strong cadre base in the region.
All said and done, the cards are stacked against TDP and it remains to be seen whether the TDP will be able to retain its Vemulavada seat at least.
- VV Balakrishna
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)