While nearly 100 leaders were recently appointed as TPCC vice-presidents and general secretaries, no names were announced for the working president posts.
In Telangana Congress circles, the post of TPCC working president is seen as ‘lucky. Many leaders who held this position in the past went on to achieve bigger positions in the party and government. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was once a TPCC working president. So was Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka. Cabinet minister Ponnam Prabhakar and TPCC president and MLC B. Mahesh Kumar Goud also served in this role before rising to power. Because of this trend, senior Congress leaders are now eager to become TPCC working presidents, hoping it will boost their political careers too. However, the party high command seems to have different plans. While nearly 100 leaders were recently appointed as TPCC vice-presidents and general secretaries, no names were announced for the working president posts. This has led to speculation within the party that the Congress leadership may scrap the working president posts altogether. If true, this would come as a big disappointment to many hopefuls who see these posts as stepping stones to greater power.
Family rule presses in different ways
Families. Can’t live without them, and sometimes, can’t live with them. Political families are no different, especially when the results of the shenanigans of one person in the household come back to bite for another in the family. Such appears to be the case in Warangal district with the latest victim of family overreach being forests and endowments minister Konda Surekha. Her husband Konda Murali, a person not known to be gentle when it comes to airing opinions, is causing problems for his wife with his not-so-palatable comments about his own party members, and local cops are frustrated over his reported demands to serve as his personal escorts. Similar is the case with Jhansi Reddy, mother-in-law of Palakurthy MLA Mamidal Yashaswini Reddy, who is said to be causing some headaches to the young MLA, with demands that it is she who should be consulted before anyone approaches her daughter-in-law, and for all practical purposes, is the shadow-MLA for Palakurthi. Murali and Jhansi Reddy may feel they have earned the right to be the way they are but officials in the district are said to have had it up to their ears with their constant demands.
Etala praises KCR in BJP’s den
Heads of tails? Flip or flop? Or is it just a habit of old habits dying hard? May be it is just all of these, and keeping everyone, at least in his adopted party, the BJP, guessing is the party MP Etala Rajendar. He might yet be the man who would be king in Telangana BJP but, knowing how to keep those around him unsettled, in a manner of speaking, is something Etala does best. At the recent party ‘Sankalpa Sabha’ celebrating PM Modi’s achievements, Etala screened a documentary showcasing his fiery Telangana movement days, and his term as the party MP over the past year. Etala, who already caught the eye by steering clear of his former BRS boss KCR over the Kaleswharam project, left the BJP gathering stunned as the documentary ended with a clip showing Etala’s fulsome praise of KCR in the Assembly over the latter’s hunger strike for statehood. Folks started wondering if it was a poorly edited documentary, or a calculated tightrope act by Etala, a relative newcomer to the BJP.
Keeping it all in the family, Gaddam style
It all about ‘mia familia’ in the extended Gaddam household. There is the third Gaddam, Vamsi Krishna, the recently-minted MP from Peddapalli, and long-time politicians G. Vivek Venkatswamy, and his elder brother G. Vinod Kumar. All three are in the Congress and Vivek, after his recent elevation as minister, appears to have acquired an edge of sorts, at least when it comes to attending to appeals for funds for constituency development. Vinod, MLA from Bellampalli, who shared the dais with Vivek at a meeting the other day, sought funds from the minister for development works. Vivek was all for it, but made it clear that a list of proposed works be submitted so he could follow up on that front. Incidentally, Vinod was a minister in the then Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy Cabinet and, at that point of time, represented Chennur, the seat now held by Vivek, as the Gaddam family continues the legacy of the patriarch G. Venkatswamy.
Jagga sees a glimmer of hope
T. Jayaprakash ‘Jagga’ Reddy, former Congress MLA, is known for speaking up but the other day, he just smiled, and did not utter a word, setting off speculation that something is in the offing for him in the party. It all happened when Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, speaking at a party event, with Jagga Reddy on the stage, said Jagga Reddy’s wife and Sangareddy district Congress president Nirmala Jagga Reddy got the Telangana Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) chairperson post under the party leader’s quota not the ‘Jagga Reddy quota’, hinting that the former MLA had nothing to do with Nirmala Reddy’s position. The remark brought a smile to Jagga Reddy’s face, leaving many asking themselves if better times are ahead for the former MLA.
Power star tries to apply brakes
Double or treble is the question that youngsters need to think about. That was the prescription from AP Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan in Rajamahendravaram recently. Speaking about how double engine sarkars work, referring to the benefits AP was reaping from its partnership with the BJP, Pawan said just because one had access to a strong engine, it did not mean racing wildly. The ‘Power Star’ of cinema taking aim at youngsters racing through the town on their high-powered bikes with high-decibel noise, made it clear that any engine is about reaching the destination and not about showing off. Cut the treble, get home safe, and pay attention to the engine that will do so was Pawan’s message. Whether this will make Rajamahendravaram streets safer from speeding bikes, remains to be seen.
A Mutt, an ex-MP, an MLA, and some land
The curious case of a dispute between the venerable Ahobilam Mutt, and YSRC former MP Adala Prabhakar Reddy over a plot of land has become the talk of the town over the past few days. The Mutt’s claim that Reddy has encroached on to its land, and Reddy’s claim that he has the paperwork to prove his case that the 1.8 acres of land in question is his, has folks waiting to see who comes out on top – the divine or politics. While the two sides have staked their claims, political mischief is not being ruled out by some claiming that the local MLA from the TD, Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, had something to do with the whole affair. Even divinity needs some political help, or so is the story doing the rounds.
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Contributions from Neeraj Kumar, Sampat G. Samritan, L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Puli Sharat Kumar, Pillalamarri Srinivas, Narender Pulloor, Pathri Rajasekhar
