Congress and BJP handles began circulating the video, alleging corruption during the previous BRS regime.
Srinivas Goud’s home tour backfires
A home tour that was apparently meant to showcase the good life has instead opened the doors to a different kind of inspection for BRS leader and former minister V. Srinivas Goud. In a video shared on social media, Goud takes a YouTuber around his lavish villa in Hyderabad, proudly displaying its interiors, furniture and other trappings. Netizens, however, appeared less interested in the décor and more curious about the price tag. Social media users began putting their own numbers on the villa and furnishings, with estimates ranging from ₹35 crore to ₹50 crore, and promptly reached for Goud’s election affidavits for comparison. Questions also surfaced over how a former government employee in undivided Andhra Pradesh rose to such a lifestyle after entering politics. The reaction apparently proved too hot for the host, and the video was taken down from Goud’s social media accounts. But by then, the tour had checked out and the internet had checked in. Congress and BJP handles began circulating the video, alleging corruption during the previous BRS regime.
Why NVS made it back to Metro driver’s seat
The return of N.V.S. Reddy to Hyderabad Metro Rail has set the bureaucratic grapevine buzzing, with questions being raised over the role and effectiveness of HMRL additional managing director B. Ajith Reddy. Ajith Reddy, an IDES officer, was brought into the Chief Minister’s Office soon after A. Revanth Reddy assumed office in December 2023 and was entrusted with key subjects, including MA&UD, IT and Industries. He was shifted to HMRL in June this year. Now comes the curious part. N.V.S. Reddy, who headed HMRL for nearly 18 years from 2007 to 2025, has been brought back to oversee operations and maintenance of the existing network and coordinate the common ticketing system with the TGSRTC. The sudden return of the Metro Rail veteran has naturally triggered questions: Why bring back the old hand so soon? The grapevine has its own explanation, suggesting that operational glitches and delays in common ticketing under Ajith may have prompted the move.
Will NRR quit cushy job, join MLC fray?
Will he or won’t he? That is the question doing the rounds in the BJP. With graduate constituency MLC polls on the horizon, speculation and rumours are growing that Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao may enter the fray, hoping to keep the party’s winning momentum alive in the Legislative Council. The contest carries added significance, as the two graduates’ constituencies cover around 76 Assembly segments and are being viewed as an important test of public sentiment ahead of the next round of Assembly elections. Rao, a former MLC from the Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahbubnagar graduates’ constituency, is no stranger to this electoral terrain. He won the seat in 2015 before narrowly losing it in the next election. The real question, however, is whether he will exchange the comfortable chair of state BJP president for the less comfortable electoral politics. Contesting may strengthen his personal standing and boost the party’s campaign, but it could also mean stepping down and risking the prestige attached to his current post. For now, the party is preparing its cadre, while political watchers wait to see whether Rao chooses the president’s chair — or the ballot box.
Malla Reddy cultivates friends but no fruits now
BRS leader and Medchal MLA Ch. Malla Reddy appears to be discovering that political friendships can sometimes travel farther than party flags. Of late, he has been seen maintaining a noticeable distance from the BRS while getting increasingly comfortable with BJP leaders. His recent appearance alongside Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao at an event in Australia has only added fuel to the political gossip. The bonhomie reportedly began after his daughter-in-law praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Since then, speculation has been doing the rounds in BJP circles that Malla Reddy has placed a rather ambitious ‘shopping list’ before the party — an MP seat, a few MLA tickets and a sizable share of municipal corporation tickets in his constituency limits. However, in what could be a case of ambitions moving faster than reality, the list appears to be moving slower than expected, with word doing the rounds that his efforts to cosy up to the BJP at the Centre are yet to produce results. Still, his political calculations seem clear — be friendly with those in power at the Centre, if not managing in the state, to ensure that his business empire enjoys a comfortable security cover. Politics, after all, is also about risk management.
Banner rush as fans try to catch CM’s eye
Flexing political muscle or displaying loyalty to one’s leader led to a jostling of sorts in Karimnagar town. The occasion was Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s visit and, if there is a record for the number of flexi banners erected by leaders, then Congress leaders in Karimnagar may have won hands down. All that the local Congress leaders had was about a 500-metre stretch of road to display their support for Revanth Reddy as he made his way through Karimnagar. But that was apparently enough for party leaders, who between them erected 135 such banners along the short stretch, with each local leader drawing attention to himself or herself alongside pictures of the leaders they are associated with, and, of course, a picture of the Chief Minister.
Back to wall, Surekha starts firing off
Protecting home turf can sometimes get tough, but the never-say-die former minister and Congress MLA Konda Surekha appears to have decided not to take any such move quietly. Firing a well-directed salvo at her opponents within the party, Surekha, at a CMRF cheque distribution event in Warangal, alleged that some Congress leaders were trying to create problems for people belonging to her camp. With a warning that she would not “tolerate even a fly landing on my workers”, Surekha also set some tongues wagging, declaring that “one person whose post may go in two days” and “another who got a post only the day before yesterday” should watch out. No names were taken, but insiders say that trouble may be brewing between the Konda camp and that of MLC Baswaraj Saraiah and KUDA chairman Gundu Sudharani.
Silence over Sarvotham’s ticket is a surprise
The normal celebrations were missing. After all, getting a party ticket for an election is no small matter, but the staid response after Congress declared Ramreddy Sarvotham Reddy from Suryapet as its candidate for the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda graduates MLC election has left several in the party reportedly somewhat surprised. That Sarvotham Reddy has the support of his father’s followers — the late Congress leader and five-time MLA Ramreddy Damodar Reddy — is well known. The subdued reception, coupled with the tight-lipped response of senior Congress leaders from Nalgonda, has left folks wondering what was up within the party. Whether this silence means support or those left out of the race are biding their time, only time will tell.
Contributions from: L. Venkat Ram Reddy, Neeraj Kumar, Raghu Paithari, Narlagiri Yadagiri, P. Srinivas
