By-election fever grips Guntur

With by elections for the two Assembly constituencies of Prathipadu and Macherla likely to be held by the end of May, the district is being gripped by election fever.

The polls in these constituencies have been necessitated by the disqualification of two pro Jagan MLAs, Mekathoti Sucharita (Prathipadu reserved) and Pinneli Ramakrishna Reddy (Macherla) after they defied the party whip while voting for the no-confidence motion.

Though the two MLAs seemed to enjoy an advantage when compared to a divided Congress and an ambivalent Telugu Desam, the elections are no means a cakewalk for the two parties. The mood in pro-Jagan camp is upbeat after a near tumultuous response to the last leg of Jagan's Odarpu yatra which ended last week in Guntur. Jagan is expected to resume his election campaign in Macherla on April 17.

In Macherla, the TDP is toying with the idea of fielding a candidate from either Reddy or Kamma communities, though party sources hinted that the party might opt for a Kamma candidate. A final decision is likely to be made in three to four days.

Post-delimitation, the constituency has undergone a vast change with the inclusion of parts of Guntur Rural and Kakumanu, culled out from Ponnur.

The constituency has a sizeable vote bank of about 60,000 kamma votes in Kakumanu, Pedanandipadu, Vatticherukuru and Prathipadu mandals, which the TDP is keen on pocketing. Apart from a strong Dalit vote bank, there is a fair mix of kapu, BC and Muslim votes.

The Congress on the other hand is still undecided on the candidates. Pinneli laxma Reddy, former MLA might be pitted against his nephew Pinneli Ramakrishna Reddy.

Former Inspector General of Police, Intelligence V. Narsaiah, who was close to NTR, is keen on contesting though sources said that his son, Madhu, might get the nod.

In Prathipadu, the TDP has sounded the election bugle early by naming Kandula Veeraiah, who lost narrowly in 2009 elections. Mr. Veeraiah has already begun the ground work by meeting people and holding meetings with community elders.

Here too, the Congress appears to be on a weak wicket. Former ZP Chairperson K. Vijaya, state youth congress chief Sudhakar Babu and Dalit Bahujan Front convener Korivi Vinay Kumar have thrown their hat in the ring, though a final choice has not been made.

Prathipadu constituency has a fair mix of Kamma, Telaga, BC and SC voters making it an interesting election. The constituency has been a stronghold of TDP since 1983 with Mr. Pedarathaiah winning a record five successive terms. But he too was swept away in the anti-incumbency wave in 2004 and lost to Ravi Venkata Ramana (Congress).

Odisha yet to give names of those to be released

                                                                                              
 The Odisha government, which announced that eight Maoists and 19 others would be released from jail for freeing an abducted legislator and an Italian after pressure from the ultras, was on Thursday yet to announce their names. The names of these persons, including the eight Maoists, were
expected to be announced soon, a senior offical said. "We are waiting for a response from the Maoist groups holding the BJD legislator from Laxmipur, Jhina Hikaka and Italian Paolo Bosusco after it was announced that the state government will facilitate release of 27 persons from jails," the official said.
"Though the Maoist groups are yet to respond to the decision on release of jailed persons, the state government is hopeful about getting some positive information from the abductors of the MLA and the Italian," said another official.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had on Wednesday said the government would facilitate release of 15 members of the Maoist-backed Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha (CMAS), eight Left-wing extremists (LWEs) and four persons from the list of Odisha State Organising Committee of CPI (Maoist).
Patnaik had also made a fresh appeal to the Maoists to release Hikaka and Bosusco unharmed and in good health.
The Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist), which was behind Hikaka's abduction, has fixed today as the deadline for fulfillment of its demands, including the release of ultras and CMAS activists.

The Jaganmohan share

                                                                                 
The CBI chargesheet in the illegal assets case against Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, Kadapa MP, details how companies and individuals benefited from the Andhra Pradesh government when his father, the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, was the chief minister. It says they were allotted land at low rates, awarded contracts and granted special permission for various ventures in exchange for investing in businesses owned by Jaganmohan. Here is what the 68-page chargesheet says about the accused.


On July 17, 2006, the directors of two companies wrote separately to the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, each seeking 75 acres at Jedcherla SEZ in Mahbubnagar and offering Rs 7 lakh per acre. Both requests were granted although, as the CBI points out, the price fixation committee had fixed the rate for that year at Rs 15 lakh per acre and later revised it to Rs 20.235 lakh per acre. Shortly after the allotment, the chargesheet says, both invested in Jaganmohan’s Jagati Publications and Janani Infrastructure.
The Hetero Group of Companies, popularly known as Hetero Drugs, invested Rs 4.50 crore in Jagati Publications by buying shares of Rs 10 at a premium of Rs 350 per share; and Rs 13.25 crore in Janani Infrastructure by buying shares at a premium of Rs 102. Founded in 1993 by B Pradhasarathi Reddy, Hetero is a research-based global group focusing on development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals. It comprises Hetero Drugs Ltd, Hetero Labs Ltd, and Hetero Healthcare Ltd.
The other company, Aurobindo Pharma, invested Rs 10 crore in Jagati Publications and Janani Infrastructure. Founded in 1986 by P V Ramaprasad Reddy and K Nityananda Reddy, the Aurobindo Group of Companies started its first unit in Puducherry and has its corporate headquarters in Hyderabad.

Rahul Gandhi begins exercise to analyse UP poll outcome

                                                                              
NEW DELHI: With the Congress debacle in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls coming as a jolt, Rahul Gandhi today began the task of analysing the outcome to make the party battle-ready ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014.

Gandhi, who led the party in the crucial polls, held parleys with party candidates who lost despite securing more than 20,000 votes, party sources said.

The two-day exercise, which was earlier scheduled to take place last week, has been launched as part of a move to set the house in order with UP having a crucial role for the party.

Newly elected party MLAs as also MPs from the state have been called tomorrow for the much-talked about meeting, the first formal review of the UP polls by Gandhi, who has owned up responsibility for the defeat.

Congress, YSRCP hoodwinking people

                                                                                

Hyderabad:The Congress and YSR Congress Party colluded to hoodwink the people, Rajya Sabha member of Telugu Desam Party C.M. Ramesh Naidu alleged on Wednesday and refuted charges of a nexus between the Congress and the TDP.

Laying emphasis on streamlining and strengthening the party in Kadapa district, Mr. Naidu asserted in a press conference here that the TDP cadre was intact, but minor differences persisted among leaders. The party would overcome differences and strive to win all the three Assembly segments – Rayachoti, Rajampet and Railway Kodur – in the ensuing by-elections, the MP said.

Refuting reports in a section of the media that he was a ‘benami' for TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu's assets, he claimed that he was nominated to Rajya Sabha in recognition of his services to the party for over two decades.

Political crisis delays Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority projects

VIJAYAWADA: Political uncertainty in the state has affected various developmental works proposed by Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority ( VGTM UDA). Almost all the major projects proposed by the UDA are hanging fire and waiting for a final word from the government.

People of Vijayawada and Guntur were elated when UDA announced the project, which includes a floating musical fountain, an open air theatre, aquarium, gaming zone, water sports, boating and bowling alley on the river front. UDA had also made proposals to take up an international Buddha museum near Amaravati, Bodhisri hill park near Prakasam barrage on Guntur side, beautification and development of Krishna waters and a passenger ropeway near Durga temple.

But all these proposals remained only on paper with the government evincing no interest. "Some of the proposals could have been pushed with the help of central grants but the state government is hardly serious," said a senior official of municipal administration and urban development.
UDA planned a mega recreation facility along the river Krishna near Bhavanipuram at a cost of Rs 50 crore. UDA vice-chairman Vijayakumar said last May that they would complete the first phase of the project in six months. But the works are yet to begin.

As per the initial blue-print, the river front stretch was divided into five zones -- beach, recreation, water sports, eatery and green cover. In the second phase, UDA wanted to construct a seven-storey recreation tower and a parking tower in the final phase. "We are waiting for the nod from the state government to start works," said a senior official.