It’s the numbers season! And it’s all about the 119 seats in the Telangana state Assembly, with the magic figure of 60 to cross for a majority that will leave any competition, well, behind. With the polls heating up, the numbers game is at its peak. But putting a new spin on numbers and luck have been BRS leaders K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao, who have found some vague inklings of good luck in the election-related dates. While it is no secret that BRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao is a staunch believer in numerology, that his lucky number is 6 and that he ensures whatever he does matches with his lucky number, Rama Rao and Harish Rao, quickly addressed this fortuitous turn of events once the poll dates were announced. The new lucky number for the BRS, they announced, is now 3. The EC announced that the poll notification will be issued on November 3, polling will be held on November 30 and the results will be declared on December 3. All these 3s sound lucky for the BRS, and the BRS will retain power for a third straight term, they say. While these rumours of a lucky win, floated by KTR and Harish Rao are making party leaders and the cadre happier, some have been left wondering how so quickly BRS’ lucky number has switched suddenly.
BATTLE ROYALE: DHARMAPURI VS. KAVITHA
Expect a battle royale of sorts in the undivided Nizamabad district area with Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri continuing to target Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and his daughter and BRS MLC K. Kavitha at every opportunity. With Kavitha now made responsible for Bodhan and Nizamabad Urban seats for the elections, the attacks from the BJP MP, who in 2019 defeated Kavitha in the Lok Sabha elections, are only expected to get sharper as the days go by. But BRS insiders say it’s just early days and the BJP MP is not going to have it as easy as he may seem to believe since Kavitha is expected to take quite a few well-aimed swings at the BJP leader soon too.
NAMO-SHAH TO THE RESCUE FOR LANGUISHING BJP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, followed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has become the wind beneath the weak wings of the BJP in Telangana state which had been languishing in a self-created mess that it is now trying to extricate itself from. After Modi’s public meetings earlier this month in Mahbubnagar and Nizamabad, and Shah’s meeting in Adilabad, the BJP cadres, and leaders say that they are starting to believe that all is not lost yet for their party with the elections less than 50 days away in the state. Will the top BJP leaders help the party in Telangana state make its presence felt amidst the slugfest between the BRS and the Congress? Several party leaders believe that it can make a difference and be a game changer.
KHUSHBU SUNDAR TO ROJA’S RESCUE
BJP leader Khushbu Sundar received some bouquets and brickbats after she expressed support for AP tourism minister D.K. Roja after former minister and TD leader Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy’s derogatory comments about the minister. Khushbu said her support for Roja was not just because she was a friend but also a woman and that she will fight for Roja. While this was welcomed by many, some began questioning the BJP leader from Tamil Nadu on her silence when BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was blamed for allegedly molesting women wrestlers. Double standards, they said and asked Khushbu about her silence on this matter.
PAWAN KALYAN PROMISES BETTER BOOZE
Pawan Kalyan the actor-turned-politician and leader of the Jana Sena never fails to be in the spotlight. His recent remarks on alcohol — with a pledge that if the Jana Sena-Telugu Desam alliance comes to power, it would provide what he called “quality” liquor at more affordable prices — drew criticism for the public health implications of excessive alcohol consumption. Kalyan’s assurance, which he suggested would have a less immediate, adverse impact on health compared to the alcohol available in Andhra Pradesh currently, immediately led to questions about his commitment to public health, whether liquor, whether cheap or of quality, would not have adverse impact on public health over a period of time. Clarity on this issue is yet to come amidst the foggy discussions currently on this front in Andhra Pradesh.
HEALTH CAMP OR HELL CAMP?
Arranging public health checks is clearly not an easy task, at least for the local municipal chairman, and commissioner when an event was organised the other day in Ichapuram in Srikakulam district. The Jagananna Arogya Suraksha programme was organised a couple of kilometres from the villages and several people were carted to the health camp in vehicles. Once done, these vehicles left the location, leaving the people to fend for themselves for their way back. Sensing trouble, the officials too followed suit, leaving the health camp and disappearing in their cars even as people complained that even such basics like drinking water was not arranged for.
