NETA NATTER | IAS ERSTWHILE KINGS BITING THEIR NAILS

Many bureaucrats, who once wielded enormous power and ruled the roost in the BRS government, are a worried lot. The question haunting them is on whose neck will the axe fall next. These fears are haunting them more now with the ACB arresting TS RERA secretary S. Balakrishna, who was known as a close aide of former MA&UD minister K.T. Rama Rao. Those in the know say it is no secret that Balakrishna managed to secure dual posts as director in HMDA and in RERA with KTR’s blessings and continued holding both posts for more than five years, something unheard of in recent years. It’s not just Balakrishna who is under the lens. Former MA&UD special chief secretary Arvind Kumar, who wielded an unusual amount of clout, is on the radar for his role in Formula E race irregularities in Hyderabad. And so, several other babus are now a worried lot.

DEFEATED CONG CANDIDATES ALSO WANT LIMELIGHT

After having worked hard for their party’s success in the recent Assembly elections, several defeated Congress candidates, later declared as in-charges for their constituencies, appear to believe that the least that can be done for them is that they get to share the dais with officials at various programmes and functions. This is irking officials, and of course opposition BRS and BJP MLAs. This is almost like what it was during the BRS’ rule when members of MLAs’ families copied the ‘family rule’ format and had their way in their constituencies. Now Congress candidates who lost the elections are doing the same, officials rue, particularly in Armoor, Balkonda, Kamareddy and a few other constituencies.

BRING ON THE FLEXI WARS

What does one do when one’s voice against a political contender is not heard? Launch a flexi war against the opponent! This appears to have been the solution arrived at by two TD leaders from Parvathipuram Manyam district, Tejovathi, and G. Sandhya Rani, with both in the fray for the party ticket from Salur constituency. Their going at each other came to the fore at the recent Sambara Jatara in Salur though MLA P. Rajanna Dora is hoping to contest for the fourth time from there. With no one appearing to pay attention to Tejavathi and Sandhya’s claims for the Salur TD ticket, both launched a fresh offensive against each other through flexis at the jatara, leaving people upset that the duo brought politics into a traditional event.

Too little too late, folks in Pendurthi constituency are saying about their MLA from YSRC, A. Adeep Raj, who his party president and AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced would not be getting the party ticket for the coming Assembly elections. Jolted out of apparent stupor, Adeep Raj has been holding grievance meetings at his home to resolve public problems, declaring that anyone with any issue related to welfare schemes and government services can reach out to him and that he will address them, though this is unlikely to change anything for him for the elections.

Kapu Nadu leader Mudragada Padmanabham has a rule. When someone visits him, treat the person like royalty and feed that person to the gills. Jana Sena leaders who visited him recently experienced his gastronomic hospitality — after going through idlis, dosa, puris, pesarattu, upma, and an assortment of sweets washed down with a cup of coffee. Once this was done, Mudragada got down to business and asked them about the strengths and weaknesses of the Jana Sena and its alliance with Telugu Desam. Whether it was a laziness that came with full tummies or the pointed nature of the questions, a fly on the wall at the meeting buzzed about saying the Jana Sena leaders found themselves tongue-tied.

NANDYAL FIREWORKS ALREADY ABLAZE

In an unexpected development, a ruling party leader in Nandyal orchestrated an 'Atma Gourava Yatra' against the local legislator. This rare protest took an unexpected turn when the police intervened and stopped the yatra at the Nandyal bus stand. Responding to the disruption, Gokul Krishna Reddy, the YSRC leader and ZPTC member, an aspirant for party ticket from Nandyal, launched a scathing attack on at MLA Shilpa Ravi Chandra Kishore Reddy, accusing him of being a non-local, and that his yatra was deliberately obstructed out of spite, thus setting the stage for some localised fireworks.