Against the backdrop of a strong agitation for separate statehood, the ruling Congress and the major opposition Telugu Desam Party face a tough challenge in the coming bypolls to 12 assembly seats in Telangana region.
The condition of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu "deteriorated" further on Tuesday even as he continued with his indefinite hunger strike seeking justice for farmers for the fifth day.
Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu on Friday launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding that the state and the central government immediately provide succour to hapless farmers and artisans who have faced the brunt of nature's fury in the last one year. The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister expressed serious displeasure over the relief measures announced by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and demanded higher compensation.
The ruling Congress party in Andhra Pradesh is caught in a state of confusion on how to deal with the resignations of its 24 members of Legislative Assembly, who are loyal to YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. For the record, the party has been saying that by-elections are inevitable in those 24 constituencies and two others from where Telugu Desam Party rebel MLAs have also resigned in support of Jagan.
The two were identified from the photographs and the television footage of the outrageous incident in which 55-year-old Janardhan Reddy was beaten up chappals (slippers), hands and blows were rained on his head and his shirt was torn.
The Opposition members were demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy for illegal possession of land.
Gandhi said he was "waiting with open arms".
The Andhra Pradesh high court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the assets of former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu.
Former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, who is in the thick of a fight against a powerful mine owner and Karnataka's tourism minister Galli Janardhan Reddy, has chided the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress for being under control of mining mafia.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday lambasted BJP and TDP for doing nothing for the country's farmers during the six years of National Democratic Alliance rule. Addressing a massive farmers' rally at Jaggampeta town in Andhra Pradesh after dedicating the first phase of the Rs 600-crore Thota Venkatachalam Pushkara lift irrigation project, Sonia questioned BJP and TDP's credentials to champion the cause of the farmers when these parties were out of power.
Leaders of the Left parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Telugu Desam Party will meet President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday to demand immediate convening of Parliament session. The meeting comes in the wake of the Left demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should quit for "lying to people and Parliament" on the Indo-US nuclear deal.
A Congress source termed the process of drafting and presenting of the Bill before the state cabinet on Monday as a "unilateral" effort by the chief minister's office and ministers that are close to him.
Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said he would go ahead with his scheduled Rythu Poru Baata (struggle for farmers) programme even as Warangal police advised him to put off his tour of the district in view of the "hostile" atmosphere created by Telangana separatists.
Tension is on the rise in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh as the police have rounded up more than 2,000 Telangana state supporters fearing violence during the visit of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday.
The ties between the Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Joint Action Committee came under strain on Monday with the latter alleging that the main opposition party has an ambivalent stand on the statehood demand.
The opposition on Sunday asked the Centre to allow discussions in the Parliament on the United States prosecutors' bribery charges against the Adani Group even as Union minister Kiren Rijiju made it clear that the matters to be taken up in the two Houses will be decided by their authorised committees with the consent of the respective Chair.
Guntur turned in to a "Yellow Sea" on Wednesday as more than a million supporters of Telugu Desam Party from all over coastal Andhra region flooded to the city for the "Yuva Garjana" (Roar of the Youth) rally to witness the popular Telugu film star Balakrishna launching himself in to an active political role.
Telugu Desam Party President Nara Chandrababu Naidu walked out of the Andhra Pradesh assembly after allegedly abusive comments were made about his wife by Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress supporters in Guntur.
Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu blamed the ruling Congress for the present state of affairs in Andhra Pradesh and asked the party to bail the state out of the crisis. "This has become such a complex issue that divisions have taken place in political parties. Congress is responsible for this and they should solve the problem," Naidu, on a tour of West Godavari and East Godavari districts in coastal Andhra, said at Tanuku.
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti on Friday gave a notice to Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar seeking to move a no-confidence motion against the Congress government for "failing to keep its promise on the Telangana statehood issue."
On Monday, Naidu and other TDP leaders refused to accept bail after a fresh hearing was conducted upon completion of their two-day judicial remand period. Following this, the Nanded magistrate extended their judicial remand till July 26.
The Central Bureau of Investigation may question some top leaders from the Telegu Desam Party in connection with the Gali Janardhan Reddy illegal mining case.
The errant TDP members stormed into the well of the House and continued to shout slogans near the podium in spite of repeated appeals by the Speaker to resume their seats. Raising his voice, the Speaker thundered "Enough is enough. Please go back to your seats. What tamasha is this? You are only making a mockery of democracy," before adjourning the House.
The by-election was necessitated following the resignation of Pocharam in March this year. He had quit his assembly membership as well as the Telugu Desam Party on the statehood issue and joined the TRS.
The ruling Congress party has emerged as the single largest party in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation by winning 52 of the 150 seats, results of which were announced on Thursday. However, the hopes of the Congress leaders of sweeping the elections and bagging two-third of the seats were dashed.
In a bid to out-do the ruling Congress party and others in populist promises, the main opposition Telugu Desam party on Thursday announced that if it comes to power in the next month's elections to the state assembly, it will provide a colour television set to each poor family in Andhra Pradesh.
The funeral of senior Telugu Desam Party leader K Yerrannaidu has been delayed. It will now take place on Saturday morning with full police honour. Earlier it was scheduled to take place on Friday afternoon.
In a relief to Telangana Telugu Desam Party MLA A Revanth Reddy, the prime accused in the cash-for-vote case, the Hyderabad high court on Tuesday granted bail to him and two others accused in the case.
The seat sharing has become the biggest challenge before the four party Grand Alliance led by the Telugu Desam party. The TDP president, N Chandrababu Naidu is under tremendous pressure from his partners' demand for a larger number of Lok Sabha and assembly seats.
After being questioned about his wealth in the wake of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement, the Telugu Desam Party President and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday declared his assets and those of his family members.
The plan to relieve NSG from VIP security tasks has been in the making since 2012 when NSG commanders foresaw an event where simultaneous terror attacks could be witnessed at one time on multiple centres in the country and the commandos will have to be rushed in different directions.
The grandiose plans of the opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh to form a 'grand alliance' to ensure the defeat of ruling Congress party were lying in tatters as the recently established relations between the main opposition Telugu Desam Party and powerful regional party Telangana Rashtra Samiti reaching a breaking point on the issue of seat sharing.
Scores of TDP leaders and supporters burst into celebrations across the state on the release of their leader.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Member of Parliament Babulal Marandi has extended support to the Third Front.In a letter to Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, the prominent Jharkhand leader said he supported the Front, which was a non-United Progressive Alliance and non-National Democratic Alliance option. He said that he could not attend the Front's meeting in New Delhi due to prior poll-related commitments.
The populist promises made by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu for the forthcoming assembly elections will cost the state exchequer a whopping Rs 5,000 crore.The ruling Congress party has termed Naidu's promises a result of 'unimaginable frustration'. "He is so desperate to come to power that he is ready to make any promise to the people", said Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
Over 65 Union ministers are likely to take oath, going by the visual of the meeting Modi held with his likely council of ministers.
Former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Friday successfully underwent operation of left Total Hip Replacement at a private super-specialty hospital here following a fracture due to a fall at his residence.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist has decided to support the Telugu Desam Party in the Assembly byelections in Andhra Pradesh, except in the four constituencies being contested by the Left parties. The party however said this alliance would stand only for the bye-polls and did not extend to general elections to the Assembly and Lok Sabha.
Recounting the experiences during the period of their detention from July 16 to 20, the five women MLAs who returned to Hyderabad on Tuesday night said, "It was five days and four nights of plain torture at the hands of the Maharashtra police... The police even snatched our gold and silver ornaments besides damaging our mobile phones. The Maharashtra police's behaviour was barbaric. We were treated so inhumanly by them that we never thought we will return alive (to Hyderabad)
The leader of opposition in Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and 74 of his party colleagues refused to apply for bail forcing a Maharashtra court to extend their judicial custody. Preparations were being made to shift Naidu and others including 50 MLAs and 2 MPs to the Nasik Jail.
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