Andhra Pradesh Neta Natter | ‘Crusader’ VVL Now Sups With Shadowy Operators

CBI former joint director V.V. Lakshminarayana, once portrayed as a crusader against corruption by some media outlets supporting the Telugu Desam, has shocked his fan base by joining a corporate conglomerate which has gained notoriety for alleged bribing of political parties for plum contracts. This company regularly gets blacklisted for short periods for poor execution of works, and yet walks away with even bigger projects. Long ago, despite glaring irregularities, the Lakshminarayana-led CBI team gave a clean chit to all those in the YSR government involved in a scam orchestrated by car giant Volkswagen's India representative. That was when YSR was alive. Post his demise, Lakshminarayana shot into the limelight following the then Congress-led Central government's decision to avenge the open defiance of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The cop, popular as ‘JD’ Lakshminarayana, quit service to "cleanse the system" and went on to give sermons to students on honesty and integrity in their college functions. He next tried his luck in electoral politics, floating a party and then joining the Jana Sena, but nothing worked. Bad luck chased his family as his wife lost Rs 2.58 crore to an online fraudster. And, the "crusader", now at the conglomerate, would be sharing office space with bureaucrats who played an invisible role in the scams of the YSR regime!

30 years after… Date for a project

Milestones don’t come that often but one that comes around regularly is a birthday. Apparently not just for people, or for people celebrating that special day for their pets, but also for projects, as with Veligonda in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district. Marking this event was irrigation minister Nimmala Ramanaidu, who the other day revealed that the foundation stone was laid in 1996 when N. Chandrababu Naidu was Chief Minister in unified AP and that it has been 30 years since. The only hitch? The project is yet to be completed, and he, as the irrigation minister, has vowed to complete it by the time Chandrababu’s next birthday comes around. Indicating his seriousness of approach, Ramanaidu said he was checking on the progress frequently. Incidentally, former CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy dedicated the same project to the nation four times. That too a milestone in itself.

Have a two-storey house but want a card…

What do most people want? Or at least what is the one that is the most sought-after by many? The Kavali MLA from Telugu Desam, Dagumati Krishna Reddy, learnt the answer to this question during his ‘Intintiki MLA’ programme. While going around one particular area, he appeared to have come face to face with what could be a case of aspirational poverty. Stopping in front of a two-storey house with a fresh coat of paint and proud balconies, he asked a woman there if the building belonged to her. The reply was that indeed it was. Then came the next question: “What do you need?” And the answer: “White ration card, sir.” The exchange may have been found to be amusing by some in the MLA’s entourage but the message was serious. Anyone who can, will aspire to benefit from a welfare scheme. Krishna Reddy, on his part, with a polite ‘Namaskaram talli’, left the spot to find out more what his constituents wanted.

Jana Sena man slips on ghee

The past, when clashes with the present, can put one in a pretty piquant spot. Finding himself in one such was Tirupati’s Jana Sena MLA Arani Srinivasulu who recently claimed there was no adulteration in the Tirumala laddu ghee. That claim was short-lived, extremely so, with Srinivasulu correcting himself quickly and stating that adulteration had indeed occurred. The short slip of the tongue was enough for YSRC to go to town with the first part of Srinivasulu’s comment on no adulteration — bolstered with the claim that coming from a ruling coalition MLA this got to be the truth. The problem was something else apparently. Srinivasulu, was in the YSRC before joining Jana Sena during the elections and winning his seat. His problem lay there, as his political integration into the new party was apparently yet to be complete and he was yet to reconcile with his past political history. Just a hint at how muscle memory can sometimes land a politician on a slippery slope.

When a communist goes to a pub

Do different strokes for different folks actually exist? Senior CPI leader K. Narayana may have his version on this. Known for his sometimes controversial comments, as was the case with actor Nagarjuna and a ‘reality’ TV show that the actor anchors, Narayana has notched it up one more peg with his own definition of ‘Viksit Bharat’. While in Kakinada, Narayana decided to check for himself the arrival of ‘pub culture’ in the town. He went to a bar in a white lungi and a white shirt, checked with the owners on how the liquor flowed there, came out and declared ‘this is Viksit Bharat for you promised by Modi and Chandrababu’ and how the pub culture spread from Hyderabad to Kakinada. He made it clear that bars and restaurants were fine but pub culture was a no-no for him and his party. Incidentally, the watering hole that Narayana checked on, was recently inaugurated by Amalapuram Lok Sabha member Ganti Harish Mathur of the Telugu Desam.

Vizag’s Metro Rail effort runs into red signals

Formal announcements of major projects and their getting to a stage where works chug along have a certain trajectory. Soon after the declaration that the Centre had green-signalled the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail project, an office was quickly set up in Vizag with some junior officers given the task of manning it. The signal may have been given but apparently, there is none to guard the goings on with an assistant general manager for the project quitting his post two months ago and the post lying vacant since. The project’s tracks, of course, still are a fair and far distance away and in the meanwhile, the office itself has been shunted from one place to another, from the GVMC administration building to the LIC Building where the rents were found to be high, and so it was again shunted to the VMRDA building, and that is where the story stays, for now.

How good fortune has allied with Revanth

When fortune smiles… It does so in a manner that leaves none in doubt. Just take the case of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy who is enjoying an extraordinary run of political fortune, with the municipal elections triumph adding another chapter to his electoral journey. Continuing a streak of success since taking office in December 2023, the Congress captured more than 80 per cent of municipalities, further tightening its grip across Telangana. The real talking point emerged in two municipalities where the Congress and the BRS finished with identical vote counts. With no clear winner, election officials resorted to a draw of lots — a rarely used method. In an outcome that surprised even seasoned observers, luck favoured the Congress in both draws. The incidents triggered lively chatter in political circles, with many remarking that the Chief Minister’s political stars were at their brightest. Observers invoked the Telugu proverb “Adrustavanthudini evaru chedagottaleru, duradrustavanthudini evaru baagu cheyaluru,” suggesting rivals may simply have to wait for fortune’s tide to turn.

On V-Day, Congress, BJP, BRS in an affair to remember

All is fair in love and war, as the old adage goes, and this principle extends to politics, especially when Valentine’s Day comes rolling around. It was no different this year too, with political parties and leaders taking playful, but fairly serious digs at one another, especially given the heat generated in the municipal elections. Bitter rivals on most counts, the BJP, BRS, and the Congress, got down to the business of exposing each other’s ‘affairs’ with posts on social media in Telangana. Each went after the other two, with the BJP hinting at a threesome between the BRS, Congress and AIMIM, while the BRS paid back the compliments retorting that there was an unbreakable ‘Fevicol bond’ between the BJP and the Congress. The Congress, not wanting to be left behind, went to town on the love between the BRS and the BJP. As the metaphorical flowers flew on social media, the ground reality with these parties coming together in various combinations in various municipalities showed that the Valentine Day greetings may have had some message after all.

Contributions from N. Vamsi Srinivas, Vadrevu Srinivas, Avinash P. Subramanyam, Pathri Rajasekhar, K.M.P. Patnaik, Balu Pulipaka, L. Venkat Ram Reddy