TDP Naidu Itching To Rekindle Old Flame Of 'Dual Politics'

By Ramesh Reddy / Hyderabad

For Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who has been pushed to a corner in a pincer attack from Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRC an d K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi appears to be some sort of a saviour.

Having convinced himself that Muslims will not be with TDP, whether it aligns with BJP or not, Naidu is cosying up to the saffron party. With battle lines clearly drawn in the State - Congress-TRS combo in Telangana and YSRC in Andhra-Rayalaseema - Naidu seems to be of the view that it may be a good idea to join hands with Modi.

Exclusive Story: The Politics Behind The Jagan-Naidu Fasts

By Ramesh Reddy / INN Live

INN Live speaks with K Sreenivas Reddy, former Secretary-General of Indian Journalists Union, on Jagan Mohan Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu's fast following the decision on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telangana. 

Following cabinet clearance on the formation of Telangana, both Jagan Mohan Reddy and Chandrababu Naidu went on a hunger strike. While Jagan has accused Naidu of being hand in glove with the Congress, Naidu says that it is actually Jagan who has got a secret understanding with the Congress, which is probably why he got out on bail. How do you view these political developments?

CHANDRABABU 'UNCERTAIN FUTURE' REMAINS 'BLEAK'

By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad

Nara Chandrababu Naidu is a religious soul but the aspirational human being that he is, like all of us, he will not be able to follow what Lord Krishna said in the Bhagvad Gita about man only doing his duty and not worrying about the results. For Naidu is certain to fret over whether his 208 days long walkathon over 2800 km has been worth the effort. The Telugu Desam chief ends his padyatra in Visakhapatnam today but he will have to wait almost 12 months to get his report card, post the elections to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha in April 2014.

Mysterious Man Kept Naidu’s Security On Toes

A man carrying an axe, knife and sickle in his handbag near TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu’s makeshift camp at Kuchipudi village in Krishna district had his security personnel on toes  during his padyatra. 
    
Chandrababu Naidu’s security men called the local police and handed him over for grilling. They reportedly detained him while he was moving suspiciously near Naidu’s camp. However, there was sigh of relief at the end of a twohour long grilling session in which the police found the man to be a naturopath who was carrying the axe and sickle to fetch the roots and bark of medicinal plants in the nearby areas. 
    
According to police sources, the 70-year old Koyyaraju of Palem village in Nalgonda district was said to be an ardent admirer of Chandrababu Naidu. He reportedly came to Vijayawada to purchase some herbs four days ago and learnt about Naidu’s tour in the district. He reportedly reached Mopidevi village two days ago and was following the convoy with the hope of meeting Naidu somewhere during his walkathon. 
    
He reportedly told the police that he had come to meet Naidu to seek his help. After verifying certificates and some herbs in his bag, the police let him off. Koyyaraju was also found to be having a hearing impairment and was carrying all certificates including an Aarogyasri health card.

Grand alliance in maha trouble in Andhra Pradesh

By M H Ahssan

In a day of high drama including revolts and protests on Wednesday, the grand alliance (Mahakutami) appeared to all but fall apart what with serious differences between the TDP, TRS and the Left parties on seat sharing arrangements. This led to TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu serving an ultimatum on the TRS to withdraw certain candidates failing which he said the TDP will go its own way.

After announcing a second list of 64 names for constituencies on which there is no dispute late on Wednesday night, Naidu said at a press conference that talks were still on between the alliance partners with regard to Wanaparthi, Achampet, Husnabad, Warangal east and Mahabubnagar but that the TRS went ahead and announced candidates from there.

“The TRS was supposed to resume talks today on these seats but they did not and unilaterally announced the names. If it does not come for talks on Thursday, then the TDP will prepare its own list. And with regard to Hyderabad and the outskirts, the TDP will surely contest at least five Lok Sabha seats,” Naidu said amid indications that the TRS was also eyeing some of these LS seats. Thus till late night, the grand alliance appeared to be tottering with the CPM and CPI too rejecting the offer of 16 seats each by Naidu.

By Wednesday night, the much talked about grand alliance was on the verge of collapsing. “The TRS has gone back on its word by fielding candidates from some constituencies after promising to leave it to TDP,” charged a TDP leader.

The day began with hectic activity at NTR Bhavan and Naidu’s residence for the TDP and Telangana Bhavan for the TRS. At 9.15 am, the TRS released a list of 15 names to which the TDP replied at 3 pm by naming candidates for 27 constituencies of which 14 were from Telangana and the rest from north coastal Andhra. The TRS then responded by naming 11 candidates at 3.30 pm. While there was no clash of constituencies in the lists released by the two parties, the announcement of the names sparked statewide protests for the TDP with its aspirants staging protests against Naidu leaving the seat for the TRS while many disappointed TRS aspirants also flocked to Telangana Bhavan to stage protests.

In Adilabad district, TDP district president and ticket aspirant Gone Hanumantha Rao and his followers ransacked the party office in Mancherial after the seat was allotted to the TRS and said he would contest as a rebel.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
WHAT’S THE ALLIANCE ABOUT: The intention was that TDP and TRS would form an alliance and contest the 119 assembly seats and 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana region Similarly, the CPM and CPI to share some seats with the TDP and TRS in the Telangana and with TDP in coastal and Rayalaseema areas.

WHY IT IS COLLAPSING: After insisting on 50 assembly and 10 LS seats, TRS settled for 49 assembly and 9 LS seats.

In the 36 assembly seats announced by TRS so far, many including Maheshwaram, Uppal, Gosha Mahal and Amberpet are being claimed by TDP.

CPM and CPI have rejected Naidu’s offer of 16 seats each and insisting on 20 apiece.

TRS has named candidates to Warangal East seat sought by CPM and Husnabad seat by CPI.

Naidu says TRS has unilaterally announced candidates for five seats which it should cancel and come for talks. No response yet from the TRS.

‘Listless’ leaders jump ship
Telugu Desam Party ticket-seekers former legislator Rajyalakshmi and former minister Boda Janardhan have reportedly decided to quit the party and join the Prajarajyam after their names did not figure in the list announced by Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday.

In Karimnagar district, six followers of a TDP aspirant attempted suicide after their leader was denied the ticket. In Wanaparthi in Mahbubnagar, angry TDP workers ransacked the party office after the seat was given to the TRS. By the evening, many protesters assembled outside the TDP chief ’s residence at Jubilee Hills to stage protests.

The two Left parties too claimed that their demands are not being met by Naidu. Their leaders claimed that they had demanded 20 seats each but that Naidu was offering them only 16 per party. Matters worsened after the TRS in its second list announced candidates for the Warangal East seat that was claimed by the CPM and the Husnabad seat claimed by the CPI.

Battling the revolt within the party and finalising names for more constituencies, Naidu announced that a second list of TDP names would be made at a press conference at 8 pm which was later postponed to 9.30 pm. In the meantime, just before 8 pm, the TRS announced a third list of 10 names that made the TDP livid. “The TRS announced the names without consulting the TDP because the Maheshwaram, Uppal, Gosha Mahal and Amberpet assembly seats that it announced were to have been left for the TDP.

An angry Naidu then issued the ultimatum to TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao to cancel the third list and come for talks failing which the TDP threatened to field candidates in all the Telangana seats.

Around 9.30 pm, Naidu announced a second list of 64 names taking the total to 91 nominees. Till late in the night, the crisis between the TDP and TRS on the one hand and between the TRS and the Left parties on the other remained unsolved.

Telugu Desam Party Supremo & AP CM Chandrababu Naidu, Still Loyal To NDA For Now Even As Discontentment With Narendra Modi Grows

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

TDP Supremo Chandrababu Naidu was rarely seen without a laptop in the last years of his previous term as the Andhra Pradesh chief minister. Once, when I called him 'Laptop' Naidu, he took it as a compliment. He constantly monitored sundry schemes on a laptop and exuded supreme confidence that he would sweep the 2004 elections. He lost. And it took him 10 years to return as the CM.

Naidu is a changed man now. It's not because, instead of a laptop, he now has an iPad as a constant companion and he talks of 'iCloud' and 'file-sharing' to review his government's work.

Muslim Leadership In TDP Jittery As Naidu Warms To Modi

By Sunita Sharma / Hyderabad

Photographs of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu shaking hands with BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi splashed in newspapers earlier this week have finally confirmed reports that the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is close to striking an alliance with the BJP. Talks of him returning to the NDA fold have been going on in the political circles for a long time. And now, Naidu’s unabashed praise of NDA rule at the Centre and that of Modi’s reign in Gujarat have all endorsed his earlier soft moves towards the saffron party.

I am the next CM, declares Chandrababu Naidu

By M H Ahssan

Confident that the electorate will vote him to power, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu declared on Monday that he was going to be the next chief minister of the state. So confident is Naidu that he made this assertion in the present chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s home district of Kadapa.

The confidence seems to have seeped into the cadres as well. Even as Naidu’s chopper was landing in the government polytechnic college helipad close to the public meeting venue municipal stadium here on Monday, one worker shouted: “Adigo, mana bhavi mukhya mantri vastunnadu. Jejelu kottandi (Our future CM is here, welcome him).”

After blessing a toddler eagerly handed over by a TDP woman activist and cutting a 59-kg to mark his birthday, Naidu thundered: “I am going to be the next CM of the state and you are in safe hands,” much to the delight of the crowds which went into raptures. “No one is going to stop the Mahakutami march, more so the corrupt Congress. Wait for May 16 and your woes will end forever as I am going to come back with a bang,” the TDP supremo declared.

Raising his pitch on seeing the response from the women and youth, Naidu sounded a warning to Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in his Kadapa den by saying, “Our Grand Alliance is going to sweep the polls. We will win not less than 105-120 seats in the first phase and it’s only a matter of time before YSR and his henchmen are ousted from power,” the TDP chief said.

In between, Naidu stuck to his routine free sop spree announcements. As he got down the dais, not before prodding the people to take a vow only to vote for the TDP candidates, Naidu told TOI, “It’s a one-sided election and YSR is heading home.” He said: “The massive response indicates that people see our party’s policies as a silent and universal ratification of my eminence and the rise of TDP. Certainly, we will bag a sizable number of seats even in coastal and Rayalaseema districts.”

Making it clear that he won’t be sparing YSR and his son Jaganmohan Reddy, he said all the corrupt money made by the ministers and YSR and Jagan would be restored to the people since it is “public money.”

But what stood out in the midst of a hot afternoon meeting was his bold assertion of becoming CM even before the second phase polling. The fact that he wants to be seen as a great hope for the people of the state is perhaps a reflection of the voter mood in the state as well, an analyst said.

Asserting that the TDP’s stars are shining, senior leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy said the Congress biting the dust is old news. “How many seats our party is going to win is all what matters now.” Nagam further said: “In fact, our calculations are veering round forming the government on our own.”

Kamalapuram strongman M V Mysoora Reddy however played it safe. “We may win 80-90 seats in Telangana and north coastal Andhra. More than the colour TV and cash transfer schemes, it’s the anti-government vote which is working for us,” he emphasised.

He added that the poor performance and corruption have provided an ideal environment for Naidu to set his best foot forward. “It may be an apocryphal anecdote, but Naidu’s claim has a ring of truth to it,” Venkataswamy, district TDP general secretary chipped in.

It remains to be seen whether the party would be able to reproduce the 1999 magic, as Naidu boasts he will.

Exclusive: Is Chandrababu Naidu Returning To NDA?

By Sunaina Kapoor / INN Live

Is the TDP returning to the NDA after 10 years? The signals from the TDP camp are hinting at a possible pre-poll alliance with the BJP ahead of coming Lok Sabha elections. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu will meet BJP chief Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. 

According to TDP sources, Naidu has arrived in the national capital to discuss the fallout of the Telangana decision with main political parties including the BJP and there will be no discussion on supporting the NDA. Naidu will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee. 

Focus: The Story Of A Jailed Prince In Andhra Pradesh

By Chinnaiah Jangam (Guest Writer)

Since May 2012 Y S Jaganmohan Reddy of the YSR Congress has been incarcerated in jail in Hyderabad as an accused in multiple financial scams and for amassing disproportionate wealth using his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's political power. This article throws light on the historical and social roots of the rise of such personalities and illuminates the complex dynamics of democratic politics in Andhra Pradesh.

How 'Telugu CMs' Are Wasting Public Money On Vaastu?

What is driving the tech-savvy Chandrababu Naidu administration in Andhra Pradesh and revolutionary leader K Chandrasekhar Rao government in Telangana? It is superstition. Both are spending huge sums from the respective state exchequers to ward off evil influences.

For those not in the know, Naidu is the first chief minister in the country to have introduced iPads for a cabinet meeting, and both he and KCR claim to be modern-day administrators driven by the spirit of science and power of technology.

'Will Shut Shop, If TDP Loses', Chandrababu Naidu

What the political pundits have been predicting about the main Opposition all these years, have been confirmed by none other than party president N Chandrababu Naidu himself. According to media reports, Naidu is understood to have told the party functionaries that he may have to bring down the shutters if the Telugu Desam failed to win the next elections.

Any setback for the party means it will be relegated to the status of Communist parties with either the YSR Congress or the Congress taking its place in the state.

Naidu may have turned philosophical after the battering the party received in all elections held during the last three years, desertion of party leaders including MLAs and the dissent from the Nandamuri family members for his decision to showcase his son Nara Lokesh Naidu.

Victories and losses are part of the game for any political party but it is viewed as a question of life and death for a regional party like Telugu Desam in the state.

There will be more desertions and the demand for the scalp of the party president will become shriller and louder in the coming years.

DMK was out of power for 15 years, from 1974 till 1989, while the Congress has to be content by remaining in the opposition in Gujarat for the last two decades.

Even Telugu Desam’s founder president N T Rama Rao suffered humiliating defeat in 1989 after winning the elections twice – in 1983 and 1985.

Still, the charismatic leader bounced back by winning 219 seats in the 1994 elections and the Congress even failed to get the main opposition status as it could not even secure 10 per cent of seats in 294 seats in the Assembly.

But Chandrababu Naidu neither has the charisma of his predecessor Rama Rao nor the confidence to regain power in the state.

This is the reason why he has been making all sorts of promises to all sections knowing pretty well that it needs the budget of all southern states put together to implement his assurances.

Will Chandrababu Naidu Be Cong’s Knight In Shining Armour in AP?

Andhra Pradesh Veteran Congress leader J C Diwakar Reddy could well consider an alternative career in Tollywood. Known for his witty one-liners, Reddy describes Chandrababu Naidu as the Congress party’s ‘maternal uncle’.

Explaining the new-found relationship, Reddy says, “When a mother is on her death bed, she likes the custody of her children to be given to her brother. Likewise, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has put our party in Naidu’s hands. As long as he is there to take care of our party, there is no threat to our government.”

The reference here is to Naidu emerging as the knight in shining armour who has come to the rescue of the damsel in distress (read Congress) in the face of two separate no-confidence motions moved by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and YSR Congress.

Individually both motions fell short of the necessary 30 MLAs (one-tenth of the strength of the House) but in an interesting political move, the YSRC decided to support the TRS, taking the number of legislators in favour of the no-trust vote to 45. The Speaker decided to take up the debate on the motion immediately on Friday so that the debate and voting are finished before the state budget is presented on Monday.

Naidu has issued a whip asking all 85 Telugu Desam MLAs to remain on neutral gear, thus ensuring the no-trust vote can only bark but not bite. The reason is Naidu is once bitten, twice shy. The last time he moved the no-trust motion in December 2011, he claims the YSRC had promised 50 Congress MLAs would defy the whip and vote for the motion. But Jaganmohan Reddy could deliver only 17 votes. No wonder TDP MLAs chose to explain their stance vis-a-vis the no-trust motion thus : “We cannot bank on the purchasing power of the YSR Congress.”

Naidu was further hit when the by-elections forced by these defections brought no cheer to the TDP, as it failed to win even a single seat in June 2012. What’s more, five of TDP’s MLAs are sailing with the two parties and it is well-known that there is little love lost between Naidu and the leaders of these two outfits. Naidu takes potshots at Jagan’s alleged corruption everyday and a couple of days back, derisively labelled TRS as a “thoka party” (a tail or an appendage to a bigger party).

For both TRS and YSRC, this then will be an opportunity to use their vocal chords to get into campaign mode. The two parties, dismissed by Kiran as “sub-regional parties” will focus on Telangana, power crisis and water shortage and use the platform of the Assembly to reach out to the captive television audience.

Reinforcing the feeling that the TDP is more a target of this no-trust vote than the Congress, the TRS and YSRC are leaving no stone unturned to taunt Naidu, accusing him of match-fixing with the ruling party. The former chief minister has taken a calculated risk in not going with the rest of the opposition.

He realises that the TDP does not stand to gain by making the government fall now as it is not prepared to face early elections. He is also convinced that the TRS and YSRC have moved the motion only to strike their own private deals with the Congress. Though with the government sitting pretty thanks to the TDP benevolence, it is unlikely that Kiran Kumar Reddy will want to strike a deal.

Both parties would also hope some Congress and TDP legislators break ranks and vote for the motion. This will boost the morale of the two parties and demonstrate that they can hurt the two main parties politically. With this in mind, the YSRC has even strategically asked Congress MLAs who support it (like former minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy) to withdraw his resignation from the membership of the House so that he can openly defy the Congress whip.

The Congress and TDP have no time to seek disqualification of such known black sheep so it would prefer that they expose themselves on the floor of the House. Kiran has also held out the carrot of a cabinet expansion after the local body polls in June to stem desertions.

But even while everyone will be pointing fingers at each other inside the House, a lot has been happening outside. Reinforcing the belief that the Congress and the YSRC are indulging in a kabhi haan kabhi naa courtship, the chief minister likened his party to the Ganges which can accommodate any number of parties or leaders. Coming close on the heels of the YSRC honorary president Vijayalakshmi’s interview to ‘The Economic Times’ earlier this week, in which she said that her party could support a possible UPA 3 at the Centre after the 2014 elections, this reveals that the two parties are in whispering sweet nothings to each other in secret chatrooms.

However, after calling YSRC a party headed by a “corrupt” man, the Congress will have to cook up a defence for striking a deal with the same outfit. Or risk taunts of Kiran teri Ganga maili.

Naidu's TDP And BJP Coming Together In Andhra Pradesh?

By Sarika Kumar / INN Live

At the risk of sticking one's neck out, let me predict that Chandrababu Naidu will ally with the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. While the former chief minister is yet to make up his mind on whether to return to a working relationship with the NDA, there is tremendous pressure on him from several Telugu Desam leaders and cadre not to spurn the overtures from the saffron party. 

In Need Of Big Ally, How Modi Reached Out To Naidu?

By Sanjay Singh / Delhi

On 26 December, 2012 when Narendra Modi was sworn in for the fourth time as Gujarat Chief Minister, one of the dignitaries invited to grace the occasion in Gandhinagar was Telugu film star and NTR’s son, Nandamuri Balakrishna. That was beginning of Track Two diplomacy to soften the TDP’s stance towards the BJP and Modi, the man who knew he would be shaping the destiny of the country’s main opposition party in coming months. 

Rally Power: YSRCP, TDP To Make Anti-Telangana Front

By Usha Revelli / Hyderabad

If political yatras were pilgrimages, political leaders in Andhra Pradesh today would be the most blessed. YSR Congress Party’s (YSRCP) most vociferous leader Sharmila begins her bus yatra today, on the fourth death anniversary of her ex-chief minister father Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy. This yatra is especially crucial for YSRCP, as its leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was forced to break his “fast-unto-death” in jail within a mere six days and it is important for Sharmila to sustain the hype the party built around the event.

Why Chandrababu Naidu Needs Modi To Stay Afloat In AP?

By M H Ahssan / INN Live

The Telugu Desam Party, led by Chandrababu Naidu, might be one of the first allies that Narendra Modi would have won for the BJP after becoming the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate. 

Though Naidu has remained steadfastly focused on UPA-bashing and refused to commit to joining the NDA, modalities for a alliance has already been worked out and an announcement will be made soon. 

Is The United Andhra Agitation A Manufactured Rage?

By M H Ahssan / INN Live

The counter agitation for a united Andhra Pradesh pushes the state to the brink of anarchy. In the past couple of months, a previously unheard of movement has been gathering force in Andhra Pradesh. Telangana agitators rejoiced after the UPA government’s announcement that the region would be carved out of Andhra Pradesh as the 29th state of India. Soon, a largely apolitical counter movement for Samaikyandhra — a United AP — started gaining currency, in which employees of the government and private sectors started protesting the formation of a separate state.

Is The United Andhra Agitation A Manufactured Rage?

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

The counter agitation for a united Andhra Pradesh pushes the state to the brink of anarchy. In the past couple of months, a previously unheard of movement has been gathering force in Andhra Pradesh. Telangana agitators rejoiced after the UPA government’s announcement that the region would be carved out of Andhra Pradesh as the 29th state of India. Soon, a largely apolitical counter movement for Samaikyandhra — a United AP — started gaining currency, in which employees of the government and private sectors started protesting the formation of a separate state.

Analysis: TDP’s Frustration Against YSRC 'Honest Growth'

By M H Ahssan / Hyderabad

Frustration levels of the Telugu Desam Party are reaching their crescendo. Does it augur well for a political formation that has provided a direction to the national politics from the very next year of its existence for two full decades is a pertinent question that has to be thought out by its leadership. The party became irrelevant in national political arena soon after it was uprooted lock, stock and barrel in 2004 in the State.

National leaders and media reduced their attention on TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu. It has been almost 10 years since Naidu remained a regional leader. The repeated defeats in by-elections in Andhra Pradesh across all regions further relegated the TDP into the political wilderness.