NETA NATTER | Danam awaits Revanth’s photo for office display

When is a picture worth a thousand words? When there is one. And when a picture is not available? Danam Nagender, the MLA from Khairatabad, has a possible explanation, given the fact that he does not have a picture of his party leader and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in his house/office. But he does have one of his former party bosses and then chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. When asked why this was so the other day, Danam had a simple explanation, he did not receive one, and brushed off the issue as a minor one adding displaying a picture of his party Chief Minister to prove political loyalty was not a big issue. Whether the picture was to come from the CMO or the Congress, in which he is now after quitting the BRS, he did not say.

Kawal closes door on Bojju

Khanapur MLA Vedama Bojju has found himself on a rough road, and has hit a speed-breaker, of sorts. The Congress MLA under pressure to “open up” a road passing through Kawal Tiger Reserve at night, has so far been stuck at a no-entry sign, with forest officials sticking to their, well, well-locked gates on the road that connects Mancherial to Nirmal and Adilabad towns. The issue has turned into a wildlife protection versus people, and despite Bojju taking his plea to the likes of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, forest minister Konda Surekha and the state’s top forester R.M. Dobriyal, so far, has not found the key to open the roads for night-time traffic. Bojju, facing pressure from the people, is reportedly worried about the fallout on the Congress in local body elections to be held sometime soon. The woods may be lovely, dark and deep, but for Bojju, forest rules appear to have left no bright spot for the MLA.

BRS, BJP MLAs team up to break Konda power

There are no enemies in politics. Only “frenemies”. Just ask former BRS MLA Nannapuneni Narendar, and BJP’s Errabelli Pradeep Rao who, in the last Assembly elections, lost in Warangal East constituency to Konda Surekha from the Congress who went on to become the state’s forest minister. Narendar and Rao who went hammer and tongs at each other in the past, appear to have found a common target while trying to stay relevant in the face of the Konda power couple, Surekha and her husband Murali. Word doing the rounds is that Narender and Rao have for now decided to put their differences aside and work together to ensure the Konda family does not develop a stranglehold on the constituency. How far this new-found friendship takes them remains to be seen.

No more luxurious gardens for Chiru

‘Megastar’ Chiranjeevi may show just how strong his fists are when he downs baddies in his movies. But that is reel life. In real life, the actor confessed about his green thumbs, and the garden in his house. The revelation came at an inauguration of a privately held park in Chilkur recently where he shared the dais with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. There was a time, Chiranjeevi said, he would indulge in getting some rare and expensive plants for his garden but the cost of some in the new park, with the cost of raising some of them running into lakhs and even crores of rupees, was a revelation of sorts. A somewhat wistful sounding Chiranjeevi said his earnings were not as in the past, and even he would not be able to afford some of the plants in the park.

Camp offices are a taboo for some leaders

A camp office can just be a building of utility value, where MLAs can have their offices and work from. But then, when sentiments come into play, such structures are best avoided, or so seems to be the case with some. Take the case of the MLAs of Nalgonda, Munugode, Nakrekal, and Huzurnagar who have not been using the camp offices, each costing a crore of rupees and built during the BRS regime. Nakrekal Vemula Veeresham and Nalgonda MLA Komatireddy Venkat Reddy had planned to begin using these offices but after facing defeat in Legislative Assembly elections in 2018, both have not stepped back into them, even after winning in the 2023 elections, and are instead opted to work from home. Meanwhile, the camp office of Nalgonda MLA was converted into an R&B guest house as the old one at Clock Tower Centre was demolished for reconstruction. Also languishing are the camp offices in Munugode and Huzurnagar leaving people wondering if sentiments trump functionality.

Bhumana influence shrinks in Tirupati

Once considered a master strategist of Tirupati politics, YSRC leader Bhumana Karunakar Reddy is watching his influence shrink. And despite his party calling foul over saying the ruling TD, Jana Sena and the BJP alliance “grabbed” the Deputy Mayor seat in a recent election, he is finding no takers on this issue. Bhumana’s opponents are reminding him of history, of how in 2021, the same cries echoed when 48 out of 50 divisions in Tirupati were won by YSRC members and Bhumana’s son, Abhinay Reddy, was elected Deputy Mayor. For years, Bhumana had a firm hold on Tirupati, controlling everything from local bodies to the TTD and the Assembly. And with the ruling alliance gaining ground, Bhumana’s days of calling the shots in Tirupati are rumoured to be coming to an end.

Atchannaidu faces Jana Sena ire

Coalition dharma can be pretty unforgiving. And at its receiving end was AP agriculture minister and TD leader K. Atchannaidu who was forced to realise that one reaps what one sows. The event was an MLC graduates constituency campaign stop in Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district and the minister’s failure to mention Jana Sena leader and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan’s name in his speech raised the hackles of Pawan’s supporters in the crowd. Praising Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is all fine but why leave out Pawan was the question Atchannaidu faced. Realising the possibility of a bitter harvest in the coming poll if Jana Sena workers were not pacified, Atchannaidu quickly made amends and paid due credit to Pawan Kalyan in the rest of his speech even as senior TD leaders at the event did their best to stop angry Jana Sena activists from leaving the meeting even as they tried to impress upon Atchannaidu that it is not a good idea to plough a lonely furrow.

Contributions from P. Srinivas, Vadrevu Srinivas, Avinash P. Subramanyam, Neeraj Kumar, Puli Sharath Kumar, Pillallamarri Srinivas, Balu Pulipaka