The Telugu Desam Party-led Grand Alliance in Andhra Pradesh got a major boost on Saturday with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti formally announcing its decision to join the alliance. The TRS had been holding political negotiations with both the Grand Alliance and Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party.TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao, accompanied by other party leaders, met TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu today afternoon and formally joined the alliance.
After weeks of bargaining, discussing and protesting, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Telugu Desam Party have come to an agreement on a seat sharing arrangement in Andhra Pradesh.
'Is the Agniveer scheme or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front?' 'Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's one-year internship scheme in the public and private sector, is it a permanent solution, either?', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Call it the art of staying rooted yet bending with prevailing political winds. With Telangana going to the polls in December, and assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra and Odisha scheduled next year, what factors have influenced parties' recent moves?
Telugu Desam Party leader Chandrababu Naidu's failure to communicate to the Communist Party of India - Marxist that he would attend the proposed anti-communalism convention on October 30 suggests he is actively considering joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party in a post-poll alliance.
Naidu, whose 150-day-long Mee Kosam Yatra entered the West Godavari district on Sunday night spoke to Rao for 15 minutes, well informed and reliable sources in the TDP said. Since Chandrasekhara Rao left the TDP in 2001 and launched the movement for Telangana and formed his own political party, it was first time that the two leaders spoke directly.
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
How much is a vote worth? In Telangana, it seems the going price for a vote in the Legislative Council elections is Rs 5 crore.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The parties which gave chief ministers and sent scores of MPs to Parliament, drew a blank this time.
The Telugu Desam Party on Friday suspended four of its 'rebel' members of Legislative Assembly from the party with immediate effect for defying it and voting in the Presidential election on Thursday.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a key partner of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), on Friday dismissed as "speculative" media reports suggesting that Samajwadi Party may come out in support of the Indo-US nuclear deal and bail out the Congress-led UPA government.
T Devender Goud the TDP's senior most and influential leader in the Telangana region has dropped hints of his intention to quit the party over the Telangana issue.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the former Andhra Pradesh CM said, 'For the past 45 years, I have selflessly served Telugu people. I am prepared to sacrifice my life to safeguard the interests of Telugu people. No force on earth can stop me from serving Telugu people, my #AndhraPradesh and my motherland.'
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
The Telugu Desam Party on Wednesday night announced that it would not attend the all-party meeting convened by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the Srikrishna Committee report on Telangana statehood issue. In a letter to Chidambaram, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu said it was for the Centre to take the decision on the issue.Telangana Rashtra Samiti and BJP have already said they will not be attending the meet on Friday.
Telugu Desam Party legislators hailing from Telangana region have urged the state government to officially celebrate Hyderabad State Liberation Day on September 17. A delegation of TDP MLAs led by Nagam Janardhana Reddy and K Hareeshwar Reddy met Chief Minister K Rosaiah at his residence on Tuesday night and submitted a memorandum listing their demands.
Telugu Desam Party suspended member of Legislative Assembly Kodali Srivenkateswara Rao alias Nani from the party after he met YSR Congress honorary president Y S Vijaya in Hyderabad on Monday.
The Telegu Desam Party made an effort to barge into the Raj Bhavan and demand an explanation from Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan as to why he gave a negative report regarding formation of a separate Telangana state.
The TDP chief said he tried to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a 'courtesy' to inform him about the decision to quit but he did not come on line.
Ahead of the June 12 by-elections in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today alleged that Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy had "colluded" with Telugu Desam Party and Telangana Rashtra Samiti to "topple" the state government and grab power.
The Crime Branch of the Andhra Pradesh police has arrested a man in connection with the attack on senior Telugu Desam party leader Dr Nagam Janardhan Reddy at the Osmania University campus on Thursday.
Three Telugu Desam Party leaders including former state Home Minister K Siva Prasad Rao on Thursday went on indefinite fast at the Hindu College centre in Guntur opposing the proposal to divide Andhra Pradesh.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will not restrain the trial court from dealing with a plea seeking police custody of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu as it announced a new bench will hear his petition for quashing the FIR in the alleged Rs 371 crore scam in the state's Skill Development Corporation on October 3.
In an emotion-filled tone at a roadshow in Kurnool district late on Wednesday night, the former Chief Minister recalled his vow not to step into the Assembly till the TDP returned to power.
Naramalli Sivaprasad dresses depending on the political point he wants to convey.
It is early to make out which way the wind is blowing, but there is no denying that challenges for the BJP, far outweigh the advantages in this region, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Amid a raging row over the cash-for-vote scam, Anti-Corruption Bureau sleuths on Tuesday conducted searches at the residences of Telugu Desam Party MLA Revanth Reddy and arrested two persons in connection with the case.
The 73-year-old former chief minister has been provided with a separate accommodation inside the jail in view of the purported threat to his life. He is a Z-plus category security protectee.
Kalyan had condemned TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu's arrest.
Over the last five days, Modi visited all of south, held roadshows, made an aggressive bid for his party, and took on the rivals with full gusto, especially the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana that was in power for 10 years.
Ruling Congress and main opposition Telugu Desam MLAs came to near blows inside the Andhra Pradesh assembly on Monday after Agriculture Minister Y S Vivekananda heckled two TDP MLAs as they held a placard that denigrated supporters of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
Condemning the raids, the TDP said it was "pure political vendetta" as Ramesh had been vociferously fighting for the state's causes in Parliament.
The much-hyped no-confidence motion proposed by the Telegu Desam Party is expected to be a no-show.
The coming weeks are sure to have a lot of drama unfolding in Maharashtra, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
