Film-star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi used the occasion of Ramadan to woo the sizeable Muslim votebank in the state. He took this opportunity to stress on his commitment to secularism and respect for all religions. Welcoming former Telugu Desam Party legislator from Kadapa Khaleel Basha, along with hundreds of his supporters, to his party Praja Rajyam, Chiranjeevi recalled his close association with the minority community.
"I am telling you that one crore people are drinking ( alcohol) in the state. All of you people vote for BJP, we will offer you cheap liquor at Rs 75. If the revenues are good we will even supply at just Rs 50, (not bad liquor), definitely a good one," Veerraju said indirectly pointing to high prices of liquor in the state.
Chandrababu Naidu was on Monday unanimously re-elected the president of the Telugu Desam Party for a two-year term as there was no other nomination, senior party leader P Ashok Gajapathi Raju announced on the final day of three-day party convention.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah, Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu and Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi were among the top leaders who paid homage to late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on Friday night. Speaking on the occasion, Rosaiah said, "Reddy had a unique personality. He always kept his word and his leadership qualities made people admire him. No surprise that he never lost an election in his long political career since 1978."
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.
Stepping up his attack on Telugu Desam Party, Congress Member of Parliament Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuedsay night alleged that there is a 'conspiracy' to defame his father and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
Spurred by the spectacular victory of the YSR Congress in the by-elections, many ruling Congress members of Legislative Assembly and main opposition Telugu Desam Party are believed to be keen to join the Jaganmohan Reddy bandwagon in Andhra Pradesh but he is said to wary of taking all of them.
Pro-Telangana protestors attacked the cavalcade of Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu in Mehboob Nagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Monday.According to reports, the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister escaped unhurt.
Stunned by the defeat in the by-elections at the hands of the YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh, both the ruling Congress and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party were trying to come to terms with the reality and decipher its meanings.
YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy's arrest comes ahead of an extremely crucial by-poll in Andhra Pradesh, but the party is still confident of a win in the by-polls, and say that his mother would now lead them. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu turned 58 on Sunday. Naidu said that the TDP, under his stewardship, aimed at ushering the third generation economic reforms for the benefit of the poorer sections. He lamented that the reforms undertaken so far had only benefited some states and the rich sections of society.The TDP leader said that he visited NTR's samadhi to seek his blessings for embarking on a 100-day rath yatra.
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday claimed that he was not aspiring for any political power but was only seeking "political purity" to lead the country on the path of "value-based development."
The main opposition Telugu Desam party has stepped up its opposition to the use of Electronic Voting Machines saying they were vulnerable to the manipulation and the people did not have confidence in the machines after the non governmental organizations exposed their unreliability.
In a fresh drama, Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly speaker Nadendla Manohar has rejected the resignations of all the 101 MLAs from the Telangana region.
The war of words between the Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi intensified on Wednesday with TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao alleging that it was TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu who derailed the process of formation of Telangana state after the Centre had announced a positive decision over the issue.
The Telugu Desam Party on Sunday accused the central government of ignoring Andhra Pradesh by doing nothing to prevent Maharashtra from going ahead with the Babhli project despite directives from Supreme Court and Central Water Commission.TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said the Centre has to 'come into the picture' and direct Maharashtra to stop work at the Babhali barrage in Nanded district. "Chavan is going ahead with the project for his political gains," he alleged.
With anger against Maharashtra sweeping across Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has cancelled his visit to Sri Satya Sai Baba's Ashram in Puttaparthi slated for Wednesday.
Andhra Pradesh was rocked by protests by thousands of Telugu Desam Party supporters, who took to the streets against the arrest of their leader N Chandrababu Naidu and other party MPs, MLAs and other leaders in Maharashtra.
There was trouble yet again in Andhra Pradesh, with the Telegu Desam Party moving a no confidence motion against the Congress government on Thursday.
Telugu Desam Party's Malla Reddy was caught on camera shaking his leg to the 2012 chartbuster at a college event in Hyderabad.
The Centre on Saturday said it will convene a meeting of political parties of Andhra Pradesh to discuss the Telangana issue only when it gets to know the views from all of them. 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.
Communist Party of India-Marxist's decision to fight the upcoming by-elections in Andhra Pradesh on its own has left the political arena in the state open. CPI-M's decision has rattled opposition Telugu Desam Party, which always saw a 'natural ally' in it.
Exuding confidence that United Progressive Alliance would retain power at the Centre, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad claimed on Friday the alliance would benefit hugely from the National Democratic Alliance's old allies like All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Telugu Desam Party snapping ties with it.
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.
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.
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.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget on February 1 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections likely to be held in April-May.
The Opposition on Tuesday termed the Union Budget as a 'kursi bachao budget' driven by political compulsions and claimed that it ignored opposition-ruled states in a bid to 'appease' Bharatiya Janata Party's allies.
The Supreme Court of India on Monday remarked that it was not right to doubt the integrity of any court. The observation was made by a bench comprising of Justice B S Chavan and Justice T S Thakur, which was hearing a petition seeking transfer of cases against Chandrababu Naidu, president of the Telugu Desam Party, to a court outside Andhra Pradesh.
The political scene in Andhra Pradesh took an interesting turn on Tuesday with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti deciding to join the Grand Alliance comprising the Telugu Desam Party, the Communist Party of India - Marxist and the Communist Party of India. The TRS' decision came as a major setback for the ruling Congress and a rude shock for the fledgling Praja Rajyam Party of actor Chiranjeevi, as they desperately sought to align with the pro-Telangana outfit.
Even as the film star turned politician Chiranjeevi was worried over getting an electoral symbol allotted by the Election Commission, his Praja Rajyam party got a shot in the arm on Thursday with two legislators of Telugu Desam party including the party general secretary joining the PRP.
Telugu Desam Party and Bharatiya Janata Party also extended their support to the bandh call given by the Left parties.
In fact they had been expecting the defeat once the United Nationl Progressive Alliance decided to abstain from the election and not support Shekhawat.
The Kiran Kumar Reddy-led Congress government has defeated a no-confidence motion moved against it by the Telugu Desam Party by a margin of 38 votes after a marathon 16-hour debate in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
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.
The Telugu Desam party on Monday suffered a setback when one of its senior leaders and legislators Pocharam Srinivas Reddy announced his resignation from the party as well as the assembly. Srinivas Reddy, a former minister, told the media in his home constituency Banswada in Nizamabad district that he decided to quit the party because of the lack of clarity in its stand on the demand for a separate state of Telangana. Reddy said that he had made up his mind to join the TRS.
The Congress ministers from Telangana in Andhra Pradesh on Monday said they will not take back their resignations until the party high command sets a time-frame for the formation of a separate state."We won't take back our resignations till the high command acts within a time-frame for the formation of a separate state of Telangana and clarifies doubts over the second statement of Home Minister P Chidambaram made last week," said AP Civil Supplies Minister J Krishna Rao.
Stepping up its campaign, a group of political parties from Telangana has set an ultimatum for the Centre asking it to announce a time-frame by Monday for formation of the separate state, failing which an indefinite bandh would be enforced from December 29.
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.
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.
