Bookies are betting big this election. In Andhra Pradesh, the stakes have touched nearly Rs 10,000 crore over who would form the government in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (Seema-Andhra).
Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday evening to reportedly discuss the administrative and political situation in the state.The two discussed the expansion of the state cabinet, the ordinance on micro-finance institutions, trimming the administration and preparing for political developments after the Justice Sri Krishna Committee submits its report on the creation of Telangana state.
Home Minister P Chidambaram said four political parties in Andhra Pradesh -- Congress, Telugu Desam Party, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and YSR Congress -- are yet to make up their mind about their stand on Telangana.
'You think that I am appeasing Muslims and because of that all these things are happening.' Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy in an exclusive interview.
While Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is considering staying away from mainstream politics for a few months after resigning, Seema-Andhra MPs are gearing up to join the BJP or YSR Congress. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday. He will be given a state funeral with full state honors at Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. Singh served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014 and was known for his role in India's economic reforms. Leaders from across the political spectrum paid their respects to the departed leader, highlighting his contributions to the nation.
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
Amid high drama, Telugu Desam Party Chief N Chandrababu was on Friday forcibly evicted from Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in New Delhi by the police and taken to a hospital on the fifth day of his indefinite fast against bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
The financially cautious Kiran Kumar Reddy is not too keen to fund a brand new political party, says Vicky Nanjappa
YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and Andhra Pradesh minister J Geetha Reddy have been named in two fresh chargesheets filed in a local court by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing alleged quid pro quo investments in companies owned by the jailed Kadapa MP.
With Kiran Kumar Reddy adamant that he will step down as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh after the announcement on Telangana is made, the Congress is exploring the option of bringing Konijeti Rosaiah, the former CM back to the state to head the government. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
The Congress would also take inspiration from history as it was from Karnataka that an embattled Indira Gandhi had revived her dwindling political future by winning a Lok Sabha bypoll from Chikmagalur.
Like brother like sister! The Congress belief that Jaganmohan Reddy's jail term would dent the YSR Congress's popularity in Andhra Pradesh takes a hit with his sister Sharmila proving to be yet another crowd-puller.
The incumbent ministers put in their papers at the meeting of the cabinet, which was their last, at the secretariat in Amaravati.
Protests continued in the Rayalaseema and coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth day on Monday against bifurcation of the state.
Congress legislators in Andhra Pradesh are pressing ahead with their informal meeting in Hyderabad on Saturday, to reiterate their demand to make Jaganmohan Reddy the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh after the tragic death of his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy, in spits of the party high command expressing its displeasure over the campaign.According to sources, the party high command was perturbed by the undue haste to thrust Jaganmohan Reddy into the spotlight.
N Chandrababu Naidu wanted a judicial probe by a sitting judge into the affairs of Satyam Computer Services, Maytas Infra, Maytas Properties, the 14 companies promoted by Jaganmohan Reddy and also Heritage Foods owned by his (Naidu's) wife and family.
The force "never faced any problem with regard to participation of candidates due to language problems," the spokesperson said.
'The pressure from these betting games, coupled with financial ruin, is becoming unbearable for many, and tragically, some even resort to extreme measures like suicide.'
The party fielded Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur, while Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada has replaced Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit.
The Congress may proudly claim that the party has given the country its first woman speaker in Meira Kumar, but sources tell rediff.com that the Bihar MP was in fact a last-minute choice for the august office.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna passed away at his residence in Bengaluru early Tuesday morning, his family said.
Virtually conceding the defeat, Fadnavis stated they will introspect and recover the loss in the upcoming assembly elections.
With controversy over Telangana deepening, 16 Andhra Pradesh ministers from the region have sought an "urgent" audience with Congress President Sonia Gandhi saying any delay will be detrimental to the party and there was "no option" to a separate Telangana.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has accepted Pitroda's decision.
A ministerial panel looking into the reasons for the Congress' poor performance at the recent bypolls on Wednesday discussed ways to effectively publicise the welfare schemes being implemented by the Andhra Pradesh government to reach out to the masses.
Protests against the decision to divide Andhra Pradesh rocked Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions for the second day on Thursday, with united Andhra supporters taking out rallies and preventing public transport buses from plying.
If as critics point out, the environmental impact assessment study was commissioned only after the auction process got underway with not all the stakeholders getting to know of it, then the government has already compromised the trust it could have enjoyed with Kerala's public including its coastal communities, points out Shyam G Menon.
Come May 16, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance will have more seats from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh than any formation mustered by the Congress, notes T V R Shenoy.
Primarily the discussion will be on Satyam matters and also on ensuing parliament and state Assembly polls.
At its Jaipur meeting, the BJP will focus on this year's assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh while the Congress's Chintan Shivir in Udaipur will discuss how it can resurrect itself.
The firm, which in recent years won the prestigious Zojila tunnel deal among other projects, forayed into city gas and acquired a media group, purchased electoral bonds of Rs 966 crore in total.
All eyes in Andhra Pradesh are on the by-elections to the Kadapa Lok Sabha and Pulivendula assembly constituencies, from where Jagan Mohan Reddy and his mother Vijayalaxmi will be contesting.
Vijay Sai Reddy, auditor for the YSR family and accused No 2 in YSR Congress party leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy's disproportionate asset case, will have to go back to Chanchalguda Central Jail of Hyderabad, from where he was released on bail only a week ago.
Those in the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress who can't see the full picture that is emerging expect the sky to fall on their head any moment now.
The launch of Jana Sena party by Union minister Chiranjeevi's brother and Telugu movie star Pawan Kalyan may alter political equations in Andhra Pradesh, more particularly in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, days ahead of elections to Lok Sabha and the state assembly.
The Congress' top leadership decided to rally firmly behind the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh as the party prepares to face the Telangana issue after an official committee submits its report on the statehood issue by this month-end.
Of the 16 assembly seats in Telangana, which went to the bypolls because of en masse resignation of the TRS members, TRS could retain only seven seats. Similarly of the four Lok Sabha seats, which TRS resigned from last year, the party could retain only two and other two were shared by the Congress and the TDP. The ruling Congress party wrested five and the TDP bagged four assembly seats earlier held by the TRS.
The Congress' washout in the recent by-polls at the hands of rebel Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's fledgling party is understood to have been discussed at a meeting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had with his party chief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.
