NETA NATTER: TELANGANA-ANDHRA BHAI BHAI?

Telangana state industries minister K.T. Rama Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Gudivada Amarnath exchanging pleasantries ahead of Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit in Visakhapatnam has created quite the buzz in business and political circles. It was Amarnath who first drew parallels between Hyderabad and Vizag — calling Hyderabad the "big brother" of Vizag. Amarnath, who was in Hyderabad to promote AP’s Global Investors Summit, said, "I had never dreamt of promoting AP standing in Hyderabad, where North meets South, biology meets technology and life sciences marry data science. We are extremely proud of the development of our big brother Hyderabad." In response, Rama Rao called Vizag a "younger brother" and Andhra Pradesh a "sister state". Rama Rao tweeted, "Good luck to our younger brother Vizag & sister state AP, as they conduct their Global Investors Summit. I wish them the very best. May both Telugu speaking states prosper and be the best in India." Rama Rao also posted a news clipping of Amarnath stating, "Proud of big brother Hyd’s development," making many wonder where this newfound sense of bonhomie is stemming from all of a sudden.

AIMIM AND BRS SORT OUT DIFFERENCES

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has had a new task, amidst the several he handles with aplomb, that of clearing the air following some anticipation laced with an equal measure of confusion by his brother and party floor leader in Assembly, Akbaruddin Owaisi. Akbar"s assertion that the party will field 50 candidates did not go down well with the BRS, the AIMIM’s ally. Asad, in damage control mode, not only visited the Assembly the next day during the Budget session but also ruled out the possibility by saying, "A right decision will be taken at a right time," when questioned by the media. On the party’s foundation day on March 2, even as the younger brother threw all his weight behind the elder brother and his unquestionable leadership, the elder Owaisi in an indirect reference to the BRS, expressed satisfaction and reiterated AIMIM’s continued support to the BRS even in the next elections. Terming Telangana to be a peaceful state, Asad asserted that a strategy will be chalked out to keep BJP at bay.

REVANTH ATTACKS BRS TOP BRASS

History, as they say, has a way of teaching lessons at unexpected intervals and when it comes to politics, the past can be used to beat up the Opposition — as TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy has been seeking to demonstrate in his speeches during his ongoing padayatra. Quoting the millennia long history of Telangana, Revanth has been drawing attention to how the Kakatiya dynasty was destroyed because its rulers trusted the Padma Naikas (Velamas) ignoring the powerful Reddys. Call it a coincidence, or a well-planned barb by the Congress leader, the fact is that the BRS’s top leadership is run by those from the Velama community.

TPCC FLEXIS SIGNAL INTERNAL COUP

In politics, every sign, every symbol, and their size in particular, can tell a story in these days of flexis, and pictures tell a tale of their own. The ongoing padayatra by A. Revanth Reddy, the TPCC president, is a case in point. In several locations flexis put up by party men about the padayatra, have displayed Revanth’s picture in the same size as those of other party leaders. That there is a succession battle in the party has never been a secret. And by "cutting down" Revanth’s pictures to size, some Congress leaders are apparently seeking to send a message that Revanth might be the TPCC chief but, as far as they are concerned, he is just one among them.