Whoever coined the term “political storm” clearly never imagined what Andhra Pradesh would experience this past week: two severe cyclonic storms and two major statewide elections. Enough to leave most people exhausted, much like the trees uprooted by winds gusting at 120 kmph. But this is precisely where AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu shines. As Naidu was fine-tuning the alliance strategy for the November 1 urban civic body elections, Cyclone Arnab struck the north coastal districts with winds of up to 150 kmph on October 28, just three days before polling. Amid the political manoeuvring, Naidu personally directed officials to rush to relief stations and, despite the elections looming, travelled to the cyclone-hit areas to provide succour. He then returned to administrative duties for the counting day on November 3. But that was when Cyclone Murasu struck the southern parts of the state, cutting a swathe through the region. Polling in rural areas was scheduled just two days later, on November 5. Naidu ensured that neither responsibility took a back seat, maintaining a firm grip on both political affairs and efforts to tackle the aftermath of the cyclones. Few could have managed both with such dexterity.
The mayor who never was
There is virtual, and then there is reality. Retired IPS officer A.B. Venkateswara Rao discovered this the hard way after suffering a drubbing in the Vijayawada civic polls. Ahead of the November 3 polling, his drumbeaters had created a cacophony on social media, projecting him as the mayor who would lead the city to utopia. The voters, however, were clearly unimpressed. The former cop polled just 12,642 votes, despite the support of the Congress, CPI, CPM and other organisations. For perspective, Jana Sena’s Vangaveeti Radha Krishna won with over 2.65 lakh votes, while the YSRC’s Rayana Bhagyalakshmi secured 1.35 lakh votes. Yes, Rao lost his deposit too. That, however, would barely dent his declared assets of Rs 21.5 crore, as stated in his election affidavit. In a clear case of the once-bitten-not-shy syndrome, Rao is now said to be planning to launch a political party. If that happens, get ready for more episodes of all bark and no bite.
Tailpiece: A little bird says that a Vijayawada MLA, once a close associate of AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, persuaded Rao to contest the mayoral election. Is he the force behind the ‘social media mayor’?
Anilkumar ducks Nellore, backs a neighbour
Talk about making your absence felt. YSRC leaders are still reeling from former minister Poluboina Anilkumar Yadav leaving them high and dry during the recent Nellore Municipal Corporation election campaign. Anilkumar, a two-time MLA, had played a key role, along with his then mentor Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, in ensuring that the YSRC won all 54 divisions unopposed in 2021. This time, however, he did not turn up to campaign for his Nellore colleagues. Instead, he found time to campaign for a YSRC candidate in neighbouring Buchireddypalem, alongside former MLA Nallapareddy Prasannakumar Reddy. Nellore YSRC mayoral candidate Anam Vijayakumar Reddy could only watch him on television. In his defence, Anilkumar’s supporters say Team Anam never invited him to campaign. He was present at Anam’s nomination-filing ceremony, they point out. With TD candidate Poluboina Roop Kumar Yadav steamrolling his YSRC rival, polling 1.76 lakh votes against the latter’s 1.53 lakh, Anam and Anilkumar now have plenty of time to discuss their differences. Clearly, Cyclone Murasu was not the only storm to sweep through Nellore.
A political wedding without a happy ending
Major events are often all about small stories. Of ambition. And a little bit of hope. Here is the story of Vaikhuntapu Harshavardhan, a BC community leader of the Telugu Desam, who dreamt of heading the Salur municipality in Parvathipuram Manyam district. But that was before fate twirled him in its whorls. Harshavardhan got his first shock when the seat he coveted was allotted to a woman from the BC community. Not one to be easily outdone, he promptly married his long-time girlfriend, Gulla Manjira. Such was his hurry that he did not even pause to invite family and friends. He tied the knot at a local temple, clearly hoping that the party would bless the union — and his political ambitions. Little did he know that other factors were at play. The alliance allotted the seat to the Jana Sena. Clearly not adept at reading the tea leaves, and unwilling to give up, the indefatigable Harshavardhan fielded Manjira as an independent candidate. The couple doubtless put up a brave fight, but she finished third in the race. Last heard, the groom was still wondering what his wedding gift would be.
Cash chases votes, loyalty takes a back seat
Talk about ignoring your friends while fattening up someone else. It is all about overlooking the loyal support of your friends in the hope of winning over those whose backing is still uncertain. The GVMC poll season showed that election arithmetic often hinges less on ideology than on targeted investment. Across party lines, candidates directed cash towards voters who said they had not yet decided whom to vote for, rather than those considered loyal supporters. The approach, however, brought its own challenges. Long-time supporters questioned why newcomers and fence-sitters received attention while loyalists were overlooked. Candidates also largely bypassed upper-middle-class colonies, gated communities and apartment complexes, not even bothering to proffer their residents any goodies. Instead, they focused their resources on poorer neighbourhoods, where incentives seemed more likely to pay off. In the GVMC contest, money appeared to follow electoral probability, not party lines.
Bollineni’s TTD experiment runs out of steam
Or so goes the hope. It is not business as usual when it comes to doing God’s work. Quite naturally, the blessings of the babus are vital. Take the case of hair-oil tycoon Bollineni Rajagopal Naidu, whose much-coveted stint as TTD chairman came to an end, not quite with the bang he might have expected. The reforms he had promised did not enjoy the smooth, well-oiled passage he had perhaps anticipated. He had promised quicker darshan, administrative changes and even the scrapping of SRIVANI darshans. But as the days passed, Bollineni and senior officials clearly failed to hit it off, with their working relationship plagued by a lack of coordination. There were public spats, too. Clearly, getting corporate-style management on board proved more difficult than persuading government officials. The government finally decided to cut like with like, opting for an IAS-led special authority. Clearly, it takes a government official to understand the mind of another government official. For Bollineni, it is back to business.
With contributions from Avinash P. Subramanyam, Md Ilyas, Pathri Rajasekhar, K.M.P. Patnaik, Aruna
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
