Match on in Munugode
Congress leader Palvai Sravanthi is one gritty lady. Her persistence to claim her father Palvai Govardhan Reddy's legacy is finally paying off. The five-time legislator’s daughter had tried her best to get the party ticket in 2014 but the alliance dharma of the Congress came in the way. Not one to back down, she went against her father's advice and the party's wishes to contest as a rebel only to lose. It was reported back then that her father himself had expressed his inability to persuade her not to jump into the fray. Suspended from the party, she, somehow, managed to make her way back. But then, in 2018, her dream was thwarted with the ticket going to Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy. Now with his defection to the BJP and resignation, an unexpected opportunity has presented itself to her. Sravanthi sent signals to the party of her 'future course of action' in the event of sidelining her again. Wounded with the exit of Rajagopal, the Congress, perhaps, thought it better not to suffer a double whammy and gave in to Sravanthi, superseding four other probable candidates. Half the battle won but can Sravanthi beat the TRS-CPI and the BJP in a triangular contest? If not, it will be Kurukshetra battle for her all over again as the assembly polls will be just months away after the bypoll.
Raja's dilemma
AICC chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s master-stroke declaring Palvai Sravanthi, the daughter of former minister late Palvai Govardhan Reddy as the party's candidate for Munugode by-election, has left the BJP's candidate Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy in a dilemma. As per highly reliable sources, right after the Congress announcement, Rajagopal called Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah on phone and asked whether he could field his wife against Sravanthi. However, Shah reportedly made it clear that only the candidate, who resigns, should contest and nobody else, and hung up the phone. Rajagopal's fear stems from the fact that Congress cadres in Munugode have not come along with him as he had expected, after he shifted his loyalties to the BJP. Most of the Congress leaders are rallying behind Sravanthi. The TRS has also been trying its best to lure Congress leaders.
KCR's hospitality
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma left with a bitter taste in the mouth after a local TRS leader sought to interrupt his speech on Ganesh Nimajjanam Day. He termed the incident contrary to our culture of Athithi Devo Bhava. In an ideal world, he could have tasted the real hospitality of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Lunch or dinner at the latter's residence, sources tell us, is not only delicious but also overwhelming. KCR can floor anyone with his oratory as well as his hospitality. "It is quite an experience. You will go home convinced that you are his closest pal and become his die-hard loyalist," they say. No wonder, Karnataka’s former CM HD Kumaraswamy, who met KCR, declared that the country is in dire need of TRS supremo's experience.
Well done, boys!
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has entered the popular lexicon and is now ingrained in the psyche of TRS leaders, cadre and the general public. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurated the Integrated District Offices Complex (IDOC) in Nizamabad recently. R&B Minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy's staff issued a release in this regard and the same was circulated on several WhatsApp groups. What caught the attention of everyone was the title – 'ED District Offices Complex, Nizamabad, inaugurated by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao'! Clearly, the person, who drafted the release, was reminded of ED when he read ID. ED sleuths can pat themselves for making such an indelible impression.