NETA NATTER | ANDHRA PRADESH | Polavaram And Some Hair-raising Tales

Goa Governor Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju, known for his turn of wit, did not disappoint those who gathered for an event in Vizag the other day. Speaking about the Polavaram project, he joked that his hair had turned white from hearing about it for so many years. Not stopping there, he pointed to Assembly Speaker Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu and his bald pate saying that Patrudu lost all his hair waiting for the project’s completion. His comments brought smiles all around, but Patrudu was clear that he will not let that one from Raju slide so easily. Laughing the comment off, the Speaker said he still had some hair on the back of his head, and it was still black. But the duo did agree on one thing, that the Polavaram project will indeed come to fruition soon.

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Water Goof! Data Swamps A Secy

Out of sight doesn’t necessarily mean out of mind. It can also mean it just isn’t there. Or not, as the Real-Time Governance Society secretary and IAS officer Bhaskar Katamneni discovered at the collectors’ conference chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Going through groundwater levels data till the end of November, Naidu stopped mid-sentence more than once, visibly unconvinced, and asked if the figures reflected reality, especially in coastal districts where the levels ‘fell’ as per the data. Making things trickier, the West Godavari collector admitted that water was gushing out wherever land was being dug. Bhaskar then was in focus with Naidu asking him if the numbers were right, and making it clear wrong figures would ‘water down’ his reputation, and reminding Bhaskar that he was a collector in a coastal district in the past.

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Competition Gets Tougher For Lokesh

Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh apparently has some tough battles to win, at home. Taking to X, Lokesh suggested that electoral battles were child’s play compared to surviving the daily reminder of awards and accolades raining down at home. His father, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, has just been crowned Business Reformer of the Year. His mother, Nara Bhuvaneswari, is all set to add a Golden Peacock award to the family showcase. As if that weren’t enough, Lokesh reminded the world that his wife figured among India’s ‘most powerful women in business’. And his son holds the record as ‘checkmate solver’. Competing with this family is harder than contesting elections, Lokesh continued with his post. triggering amused reactions, with netizens wondering whether Lokesh should start campaigning at home before taking on political opponents outside.

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Ex-babu Now Backs A Full Capital

In the Guntur-Vijayawada region, jobs seem to exist mainly in speeches, PowerPoint presentations and election manifestos. Former IAS officer Praveen Prakash has now added his own lived experience to this growing archive, politely pointing out that there are virtually no high-paying private sector jobs where Amaravati is supposed to bloom. After his voluntary retirement, Prakash went job-hunting in Vijayawada but for three months the IIT-educated former IAS officer could not find one he could fit into. He finally did find one in Delhi and, according to Prakash, this had little to do with individual governments, and everything to do with the absence of a serious economic engine. Not stopping there, Prakash suggested that without developing Amaravati as a full-fledged capital, all parties were merely rearranging files. Half a capital, he implied, produces half-baked development and zero jobs. Then came the punch: without special category status, the `45-lakh crore needed for the greenfield capital will be hard to come by.

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Latecomer Ganta Gets A Dose Of His Medicine

There was a time when celebrities patiently waited for political leaders to arrive at an event. But times have apparently changed, and roles are being reversed as experienced by Bheemili MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao, who was known during his ministerial days for turning up nearly an hour late to functions. He surprised many in Vizag recently by arriving right on time to inaugurate a clothing store. But the twist came from the celebrity guest. Actress and former TV anchor Anusha who was scheduled to attend the event failed to show up, leaving Ganta playing the role which others had to when he was a minister.

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Shishya Beats The Guru, And A Holiday Is Denied

Nellore politics just witnessed a classic case of the student outscoring the teacher. Having learned the tricks of the trade like a diligent pupil from MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, former minister Anil Kumar Yadav has now delivered a masterstroke that left his former mentor visibly stunned. Once known as Sridhar’s political protégé when the duo was in the YSRC, Anil in a move that shocked the TD camp, to which Sridhar now belongs, managed to woo as many as five corporators from its ranks recently, proving that the student had not only learned the lessons well but also mastered them. The irony was hard to miss. Sridhar, a seasoned politician who once laid the political ladder for Anil’s rise, suddenly found himself on the receiving end of his own strategies of perfect camp politics. The drama was further spiced up by the Mayor’s unexpected resignation announcement, which effectively pulled the curtain down on the much-hyped camp politics and ended what was meant to be a prolonged political picnic. And this left leaders grumbling and corporators staring into uncertainty.

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After A Joyride, Looking For A Ticket To Ride

What was meant to be a follow-your-leader and get a joy ride in a new Vande Bharat Express turned into a moment of real life training for many followers of TD leaders and ministers. It all began with Union minister of state for heavy industries B. Srinivasa Varma flagging off a Vande Bharat Express from Narsapur to Chennai. He, along with the state’s water resources minister Nimmala Rama Naidu, Jana Sena MLAs B. Nayakar and B. Srinivas, and TD MLA V. Ramu and others got into the train and travelled up to Gudivada. While Varma bought tickets to some of his followers to travel along with him, many others boarded the Vande Bharat without tickets. Once the leaders deboarded at Gudivada, so did the followers, but the ministers and MLAs returned to their destinations by car leaving the followers wondering if all that ticketless travel was worth it after all, and ended up going back home after hours of wait, buying train or bus tickets.

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