NETA NATTER | IN POLITICS, THINK BEFORE POSTING
The BRS places a premium over its online presence and activity on social media platforms, and takes a certain pride on this with its ‘gotcha!’ approach to those on its we-hate-you lists. Look at what happened with former deputy chief minister T. Rajaiah when he quit the BRS after party chief K. Chandrashekar Rao dropped him as the Station Ghanpur Assembly constituency candidate despite him being an incumbent MLA. Following this, he met Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and expressed his willingness to join the Congress. Retribution was swift from the BRS with its leader Manne Krishank posting on X saying, “Thank You Rajaiahgaru for finally leaving BRS… God save the Women of whichever party you are joining (sic).” The post alluded to allegations of misbehaviour with women levelled against Rajaiah. But now that Rajaiah was welcomed back into the BRS by KCR, Krishank has found that the shoe sometimes can be on the other foot, with his comment on Rajaiah getting trolled and Krishank being asked who will save women in the BRS now. Will it be God or KCR, is the question doing the rounds.
BRS’ VAASTU WOES CONTINUE
That the BRS as a whole has great faith in Vaastu is no secret. After all, when in power, the BRS government demolished the old Secretariat complex and built a brand new one that complied with the Vaastu requirements of the then chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. Cut to 2024 and the run-up to the Lok Sabha polling, the party started working on changing the entry direction of its headquarters, the Telangana Bhavan. Work started at the second gate for the building and expectations were that the changes would be implemented quickly. But apparently, Vaastu and stars don’t necessarily talk to each other and, if the word doing the rounds in the party office is anything to go by, the changes might happen once a proper ‘Muhurtam’ is fixed.
THE PEN VS THE KEYBOARD FOR KCR & KTR
KCR has been after his party leaders to have at least one lakh people from each of the 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state write postcards to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, demanding fulfilment of promises made to farmers. His son and BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao had previously lamented on how more social media teams may have helped the party do better in the last Assembly elections, though he too had in the past supported postcard movements over NREGS, and GST on handlooms. The party has something to compare the two leaders over, and it remains to be seen if BRS workers and leaders send more postcards following KCR’s call than they did when KTR called for similar action.
A NEW HOME MINISTER ON THE CARDS?
The other day, Munugode Congress MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy created a flutter of sorts claiming that BRS leaders were worried over the prospects of him becoming home minister as they know that if he held the position, he would ensure that many from BRS find themselves behind bars. Though Raj Gopal’s comments during a campaign stop in Bhongir constituency had nothing to do with who holds the home portfolio now — for the record it is Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy — Raj Gopal’s detractors immediately latched on to his words asking questions if he believed that he was better than the CM on the home department front.
POLITICS AND BP GO HAND IN HAND
What has blood pressure got to do with elections? Candidates are of course, under a lot of stress during this phase as are their leaders. Whether it is actual BP, or whether it is the ‘before polling’ pressure, thanks to YSRC president and AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, BP suddenly became the talk of the town. Jagan, at an election rally recently, said that the blood pressure of Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan was shooting up with their follies getting exposed. This, he said, was resulting in Naidu and Pawan losing their temper. While Naidu is yet to join this ‘healthy’ discussion, Pawan declared that the day was not far off when Jagan too would see his BP raise once his failures were exposed.
AP POLITICOS USHER IN NEW STONE AGE
The ‘Stone Age’ is all the rage in AP with folks from YSRC and TD chucking some metaphorical stones at each other on social media platforms ever since Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was the target of a stone-thrower in Vijayawada a few days ago. On the ground too stones were hurled at the dais at TD and Jana Sena public meetings and suddenly police and security personnel deployed to protect the VVIPs and VIPs, were having to have their eyes peeled for these flying missiles that can come from any direction. Such being the case, the security protocol now includes cops cleaning up stones in and around public meeting venues and on streets where roadshows are being held.