Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is fuming, and this time, it's not at the Opposition parties but at his own planning department officials. The reason?
Flattery has always been a political tool to win over people and to get things done. For BJP's Somu Veerraju in AP, this appears to be a route to get into the good books of state BJP president D. Purandeswari. Veerraju, who earlier held this post, of late has been seen and heard showering high praise on the Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha member Purandeswari. He praised Purandeswari sky-high for using her good offices for the development of Rajamahendravaram railway station saying but for her this would not have happened. His comments left fellow BJP leaders wondering if this was sincere or a ploy to hint that he should be considered for an MLC post for which Purandeswari's approval is a must. The verdict is still out on this one.
Meenakshi keeps state Congress on toes
The Congress camp in Telangana is in a state of flutter, and the reason is none other than the newly-appointed AICC in-charge, Meenakshi Natarajan. Barely 10 days into her role, she has turned Gandhi Bhavan into a high-pressure zone, summoning ministers, MLAs, MPs, and MLCs daily for rigorous review meetings. With almost military-like precision, Meenakshi is compiling reports on leaders' performance and dispatching them to the Delhi high command. The fear of receiving a dreaded "negative mark" looms large, especially with a Cabinet expansion and nominated posts in the offing. Adding to the anxiety, she has now categorised Congress leaders into three distinct groups: Veterans, pre-election recruits (before the 2023 Assembly polls), and post-victory entrants (after December 2023). Her decision to allocate posts based on these classifications has sent ripples through party ranks. As leaders scramble to prove their worth, one thing is clear - under Meenakshi, the Congress isn't just in power; it's on its toes.
Red faces as Cong. praises BRS schemes
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is fuming, and this time, it's not at the Opposition parties but at his own planning department officials. The reason? A February 17 annual statistical report that sang praises of the previous BRS government's schemes like Kaleshwaram, Rythu Bandhu, and Rythu Bima, attributing to them Telangana's agricultural growth. To make matters worse, the report was unveiled by none other than Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, leading to major embarrassment for the Congress government. Adding salt to the wound, BRS leader K.T. Rama Rao cheekily thanked Bhatti for "acknowledging" BRS's achievements - despite Congress branding these schemes as "scams". The bureaucratic corridors are abuzz with tension as planning department principal secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania faces the CM's wrath. Rumours suggest a mass transfer of officials is imminent, now that the MLC election code has been lifted. With the proverbial axe hanging over their heads, planning department officials and staff are experiencing sleepless nights.
Leaders' photos grace wedding cards
This may be a sign of changing times, or more likely of mores. And with this change has come a new trend in wedding card designs, and driving this are Congress leaders from the former unified Nizamabad district. No longer do images of Gods and Goddesses grace wedding cards, giving their divine blessings to the couple-to-be. It is now the turn of leaders such as late prime minister Indira Gandhi, and Dr B.R. Ambedkar who is finding a place on the wedding cards in Nizamabad. Just to be sure, also finding a place on the cards is the Congress symbol of the hand. Not satisfied with that, names of party leaders including TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, and other senior leaders, are being included in the cards with them expressing their best wishes to the new couple. Whether this is a passing fad or something more related to leaders expressing their loyalties to the party and its leaders remains to be seen but, if the grapevine is anything to go by and with party posts, small and big, being aspired for, these wedding cards with a difference are now a thing that is expected to stay for some time to come.
Footwear of KCR, KTR tell a big story
Stepping into the shoes of someone else is never an easy task. First, those shoes need to be available, and then they need to fit. It has been no secret that in the BRS, the heir-apparent in waiting is K.T. Rama Rao, party working president and son of party president and former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. This part of the story is old hat, old news, but status setting when all other senior leaders of the party are present, sends a message and this was the case at KCR's farmhouse just the other day. At the meeting to discuss plans for BRS formation day celebrations, it was only KCR and KTR who were wearing their footwear and everyone else, including the acknowledged party trouble-shooter and strategist T. Harish Rao, and KCR's daughter K. Kavitha, were barefoot, prompting some to say if KCR and KTR, holding the party's top two posts, are ensuring that none will step into their shoes.
Lokesh holds a class, grammarly
Grammar may make all the difference in communication, especially the written kind. If AP's HRD minister Nara Lokesh's stand on this is anything to go by, the rules of the language would well make or break a career. During a discussion in the Legislative Council the other day, Lokesh, batting away criticism that the government forced some vice chancellors to put in their papers, pulled out copies of resignation letters from several VCs, and to read from a couple. The VCs wrote they were resigning from their posts "based on oral instructions communicated to the VCs of the University," Lokesh said. This sentence should have ended with 'VCs of the Universities" and not in the singular, he pointed out, before declaring new VCs were appointed on merit, and went on to add that some former VCs managed to land their posts thanks to political influence instead of academic merit.
Roja finds herself in dire straits
It's hard to keep former AP minister R.K. Roja from the spotlight. Recently, she wrote "help is a strange thing. If you do it, people forget. If you don't, they remember." With rumours of her possible arrest doing the rounds, what soon followed was a guessing game. Was Roja throwing a shade at Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the leader she once fiercely defended, but who is now seemingly distant? Or was it a dig at NDA leaders — some of whom once benefited from her help when she was in power, but now appear to be hard to reach? The political grapevine is buzzing, and Roja, once YSRC's loudest voice, now seems caught in a classic case of loyalty in silence. Despite her battles for the party, there's talk Jagan might be rethinking her role — maybe her screen presence is just too extra for some.
BJP leaders read more into Somu's flattery
Flattery has always been a political tool to win over people and to get things done. For BJP's Somu Veerraju in AP, this appears to be a route to get into the good books of state BJP president D. Purandeswari. Veerraju, who earlier held this post, of late has been seen and heard showering high praise on the Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha member Purandeswari. He praised Purandeswari sky-high for using her good offices for the development of Rajamahendravaram railway station saying but for her this would not have happened. His comments left fellow BJP leaders wondering if this was sincere or a ploy to hint that he should be considered for an MLC post for which Purandeswari's approval is a must. The verdict is still out on this one.
No red flags for tourism officer
Life, apparently, is not always a beach, and sometimes the waves may lap gently, and at others may come crashing in. The Rushikonda beach may have recently lost its 'Blue Flag' certification, something that signifies a clean beach, but not for Garikina Das, a contract employee of the AP government who, as assistant tourism officer in the past, faced various allegations as the number of stalls and shops at the beach leaped from 40 to more than a hundred. Now, he has been made the district tourism officer for the Vizag and ASR districts identified as focus areas for the state's tourism plans. Das, who started as a guide in 2004, steadily advanced through the ranks, but his latest appointment has sparked criticism from local elected representatives who have been pointing to his previous alleged omissions, and commissions. Where these growing waves of criticism will land remains to be seen.
Daggubati offers 50 years to Naidu!
There was a time when animosity for each other was there for all to see. But with time people change or so it appeared at an event where former minister Daggubati Venkateswara Rao's book on world history was released. On the dais along with others was Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu about whom Daggubati reminded the gathering of their differences. That, he said, was in the past and bygones should be bygones. On technological developments, on which the book also deals with, Daggubati pointed out that adding 50 more years to one's life may soon be possible and, with a twinkle in his eye, turned to Naidu and asked if he was game for it. The best, however, was saved for the end when he said if this happens, then Nara Lokesh may stand to lose out, hinting at the younger Naidu waiting in the wings to become AP's Chief Minister one day.
Contributions from Sampat G. Samritan, Narender Pulloor, Vadrevu Srinivas, L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Avinash P. Subramanyam, Aruna, Balu Pulipaka
