Andhra Pradesh Neta Natter | Jagan Finally Tries To ‘Press’ The Matter

Friends and enemies. For most part this is how the media is viewed by most politicians, friends or adversaries. But when the going gets tough, it comes easy, especially to politicians, to turn on a dime and reach out to those who were kept away in the past, especially when out of power. Take the case of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSRC supremo and AP former chief minister who kept the media away at an arm’s length and more when in power. But with time things change and so, of late, Jagan, who during his five years in office largely shunned the press, is now frequently before cameras — questioning “credit claims” by the TD government on data centres, airports, green energy projects, medical colleges and welfare infrastructure, and backing his assertions with documents and presentations. Realisation that while pride may have its place, the press does too, especially when out in the pasture, appeared to have dawned on the former chief minister.

Pawan stomps out of his own meeting

That Jana Sena supremo and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan can be a very impulsive politician given to taking spot decisions is well-known. The only predictability of his is how unpredictable he can be. At a recent meeting at Amaravati with party MLAs, MPs and leaders of various constituencies, he admonished them for not doing enough in their constituencies, and for not responding strongly enough on issues like the Tirupati laddu adulteration. Even his brother and MLC Nagababu and Kakinada MP T. Uday Srinivas were not spared. There were a good number of cold stares at some, and an angry Pawan, insiders say, walked out of the meeting he had called. That left those at the meeting wondering if this was a first when a leader walked out of a party meeting that he had called instead of some disgruntled leader from the party.

TD MLA Raju falls out of step with district brass

It’s never really easy to do a balancing act in politics. There is always someone who gets miffed at some decision or the other. But sometimes, that someone could well be an MLA as happened in Anakapalli district following the appointment of TD leader Tatayya Babu as the party’s district unit president sparking some discontent within the rank and file. Among the ranks was Chodavaram MLA K.S.N. Raju who was absent from the swearing-in ceremony of TD’s new district executive committee on February 4. If the word doing the rounds is right, then Raju instructed his supporters to skip the event even as he chose to travel to Amaravati giving the miss to the event graced by the district in-charge minister Kollu Ravindra. The MLA’s absence and his advice to his constituency workers is just a taste of the unpalatable goings on within the district unit of the TD. Even as this drama was on, elsewhere, during the Anakapalli Utsav, Elamanchili’s Jana Sena MLA Sundarapu Vijay Kumar grabbed attention, joining singer Sunitha to belt out a number to much cheering from the crowd that included home minister Anitha.

Making space for a son rise

Success sometimes needs succession, or so is the belief in Jaggampeta constituency. With Jyothula Venkata Appa Rao aka Nehru, a four-time MLA from Jaggampeta, following a heart surgery this term, made it clear that the next MLA from the constituency should be his son, Naveen Kumar, who is now the TD’s Kakinada district president for the second time. This has led to some expected consternation among other TD leaders who were eyeing the opportunity to replace Nehru when the next elections roll around in 2029. While leaving Jaggampeta to his son, Nehru set the cat among the pigeons declaring that he, however, would not be averse to contesting from some other constituency the next time, leaving others in other constituencies wondering who could be the next target of the senior TD leader.

Grave(l) battle turns pell-mell in Nellore

If political rivalry were an Olympic sport, SPSR Nellore district could be a podium regular thanks to the long-running duel between former minister and Sarvepalli legislator Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, and former YSRC MLA and former minister, also from Sarvepalli, Kakani Govardhan Reddy. The back and forth between the two has of late evolved into a high-voltage public spectacle thanks to the duo trading barbs at each other over a matter related to gravel excavation and sales. The two sides went at each other earlier with Somireddy showing his proofs of Kakani indulging in large-scale illegal gravel excavation when he was minister and now, it is Kakani’s turn to return the favour, so to speak, with him producing his evidence of illegal sand mining in the Penna river alleging Somireddy and his followers as the actors involved. Apparently not satisfied with chucking gravel and sand allegations at each other, the two have dared each other to debates and vows in temples to prove innocence, with both sides unwilling to let any dust settle in this matter.

Contributions from Vadrevu Srinivas, Md Ilyas, Pathri Rajasekhar, Aruna, Laxmi Pranathi