Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has assembled a large team of committee members to prepare his Jana Sena for the local body elections. The immediate question is whether the Telugu Desam will allot enough seats to the Jana Sena to accommodate its large team. Appointing committee members is one thing; finding seats for candidates is another. The Jana Sena has formed coordination committees in all 25 parliamentary constituencies, with 37 members each, taking the total to 925. This is apart from members of other committees tasked with election management, alliance coordination, campaigning and treasury work. With so many people assigned election duties, Pawan, according to party insiders, will have to ensure that the Jana Sena, which has reportedly sought 40 per cent of the seats, gets a reasonable share to contest.
Vijay lends a helping hand, and how
Even priests, who communicate directly with the deities at temples the wishes and prayers of people, common or VIPs, sometimes need a helping hand. As happened during Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s recent visit to Vijayawada. Vijay, who arrived at the Kanaka Durga temple on Indrakeeladri hill during the ongoing Navaratri celebrations in traditional attire, wearing a white dhoti and a shirt, was welcomed by the priests with temple honours following which he offered special prayers. After darshan of the deity, as per the temple tradition, a priest was supposed to anoint a vermilion mark on his forehead but for some reason, the priest struggled to do so. So Vijay stepped in, gently held the priest’s hand to help him apply the mark. What could have been a bureaucratic nightmare involving a VIP was resolved with the VIP’s helping hand. Vijay also received a sacred garment, theertha prasadam and a framed portrait of the deity Kanaka Durga and was given the traditional Vedic benediction by the priests.
Narayana changes his mind on canals
Things change. And sometimes, they change for the better. That is the fairly comfortable spot in which municipal administration minister P. Narayana finds himself these days. Known for spearheading efforts to clear encroachments along irrigation canals in Nellore in 2015 to prevent flooding, Narayana, 11 years later, supported the distribution of house site pattas along canal banks, albeit in a different area from where the demolitions had taken place. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu recently distributed pattas to 939 beneficiaries, covering 22.31 acres along the Sarvepalli canal bund. Narayana described the move as ending a six-decade-long wait for housing security. The challenge for Narayana, who once championed demolition drives to protect Nellore from floods, is now to ensure that the new homes do not compromise flood safety.
Sribharat tries to ‘railroad’ alliance partner
The said and the unsaid can be tricky to deal with, as Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat may be finding after apparently stirring a political debate with candid remarks on two much-publicised development promises. First, he questioned claims that Google data centres would generate lakhs of jobs, reportedly putting the figure at just 1,500–2,000. He has also sought to know when the NDA government’s promised Visakhapatnam Metro Rail project will see the light of day. His comments have left many within the ruling alliance wondering what Sribharat was up to. Was he offering a reality check or hinting at differences within the ruling alliance? These are the questions doing the rounds now.
Revanth jolt gets things moving
For Telangana’s IAS officers, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s patience appears to be wearing thin. His unprecedented warning that IAS officers could be suspended over power cuts sent shockwaves through bureaucratic circles, putting senior officials on notice that a casual approach to his instructions could cost them their posts. Energy Special Chief Secretary Navin Mittal and TG Genco CMD S. Harish were specifically warned, while other IAS officers in power utilities also faced the heat. Although Revanth has repeatedly expressed displeasure with IAS officers over the past three years, this is the first time he has explicitly threatened to suspend them over administrative failures. The immediate trigger was the officials’ casual approach to his repeated directions to ensure full-capacity generation at the Yadadri and other thermal power stations. The YTPS chief engineer’s head has rolled, and five IAS officers will monitor the plant on a rotational basis. With power shortages and outages fuelling anger among farmers struggling to save their crops and other consumers, the CM apparently felt the need to inject a little electricity into the system.
KTR takes it on the chin
Nothing escapes the eagle eyes of politicians looking to score points over their rivals, not even a beard. Though politicians are used to taking one on the chin every now and then, sporting a beard can itself become part of a political back-and-forth. There was a time when minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy came under scrutiny after he started growing a beard and claimed that he would not shave it until the Congress came to power. Now, it appears to be the turn of BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, who is sporting an “I-am-growing-a-beard” look. The facial fuzz did not escape the notice of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who, while speaking about El Nino and its impact on the state, took a dig at KTR without naming him, saying that there was someone going around in a “disguise”. Whatever the truth may be, KTR explained that the beard had something to do with his meeting with the rugged Singareni workers and that a “tough” look was called for.
Contributions from Avinash P. Subramanyam, Pathri Rajasekhar, Aruna, Sampat G. Samritan, L. Venkatram Reddy, Balu Pulipaka
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
