Andhra Pradesh Neta Natter | For Naidu, Alliance is the Way to Go

Politics, like many other aspects of life, can get pretty transactional. A demonstration of this was on display during Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s speech the other day at Markapuram, during which he made a strong pitch for the TD-JS-BJP alliance, warning that those who fail to back the coalition would be the ones to “lose” with the implication that benefits and ballots are closely intertwined and that beneficiaries of today’s largesse must reciprocate tomorrow. Of course, Naidu also spoke about how governance must transcend caste and religion and be judged solely on development and performance. Voters, he urged, should back those who deliver tangible results rather than be swayed by social divisions.

Games MLAs play, and how to catch them out

How to steal the show? Just ask 70-year-old TD MLA Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary. The septuagenarian showed how this is done at a sports event while taking part in the javelin throw for 70-year-olds, mock-demanding, “Speaker Sir, please check their Aadhaar cards!” while casting a suspicious eye at a few overly agile “seniors” and announcing that 30- to 40-year-olds were entering the senior events so they can win prizes, and their birthdates need checking to ensure the rewards go to the deserving. The fun event for public representatives, of course, passed off without any such checks with leaders cheering each other like schoolboys.

Don’t like what you’re hearing? Shut your ears

Don’t like what you are hearing? Then stuffing your ears with cotton might just do the trick. This was the advice from BJP MLC Somu Veerraju to opposition YSRC members recently. Discussing the law and order situation in the state in the Legislative Council, Veerraju started to pull up the previous YSRC regime for its failures, citing instances such as the one where people broke the barricades and the public address system failed to function during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2024 election meeting at Chilakaluripet. With opposition members rising with objections, Veerraju advised them to plug their ears with cotton if they were unwilling to listen to what he had to say.

Trust a BJP mantra to make ‘moo-st’ of it

When things get heated, as they often do between politicians, it could well be a situation of making hay while the sun shines. Doing just this on the matter of cow protection was Union minister of state for mines and heavy industries B. Srinivasa Varma who chastened former minister Karumuri Nageswara Rao of the YSRC and advised him to take some responsibility when it comes to bovine safety. Apparently riled by Rao’s question on what the BJP and the RSS were doing on this matter, Varma lost no time to milk the issue, making it clear to Rao that everyone should do their bit for cow protection and not just leave it for someone else to do the job, and making it clear that when it comes to protecting cows, BJP and RSS continue to graze on the subject with some comfort.

One more warning, for civic babus how are listening

Old habits…. Apparently vexed with the lackadaisical attitude of GVMC town planning wing officials in discharging their duties, Vizag district collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad issued a stern warning to officials to get cracking on addressing public grievances. After he summoned town planning officials to his office and pulled them up for continued negligence on this front, despite previous memos on the matter, he told them plainly: Don’t want to work? Then go on leave. Negligence will not be tolerated was the warning.

AP’s Subhash holds out a threat to BRS… again

Labour minister Vasamsetti Subhash apparently has his axe out for the BRS from Telangana. After his previous jabs about the Settibalija community and how this was undermined by Telangana former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, Subhash had said that he was warned by BRS folks not to enter Hyderabad. After his recent visit to the Telangana capital, Subhash was back to his old ways, saying nothing happened to him while in Hyderabad, but if BRS leaders were ever to step into AP, then they will have him to reckon with. Leaving many wondering what is up with him and the BRS.

Circle is just a straight line

A circle is nothing but a straight line bent into a shape. And that apparently is the path Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has taken on the issue of ghee adulteration at Tirumala. Clarifying that he never directly blamed former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in the laddu ghee adulteration case and that he only mentioned that this happened under the TTD Trust Board appointed during Jagan’s rule. This left those in the alliance scratching their heads, asking if Pawan Kalyan was merely circling around the issue, or was targeting Jagan as the rest of his speech on the matter in the Assembly sounded as if Jagan was indeed to be blamed on the adulterated ghee and Tirupati laddus issue.

Contributions from Md Ilyas, Sampat G. Samritan, Vadrevu Srinivas, Aruna, Avinash P. Subramanyam, L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Balu Pulipaka