TDP has decided to cancel ‘Maha Nadu’ the party’s annual conclave this year and hold it in May next year.

The extended meeting of the TDP has on Tuesday discussed about strengthening of the party. It was decided to hold elections to village and ward committees from July 20 to 30. The party has also decided to hold elections to party’s mandal and frontal committees from August 5 to 20. From August 20 to 30, elections to district committees and other frontal committees of districts would be held.

It is said that the party President felt it was good to concentrate on strengthen the party rather than holding the Maha Nadu. The Maha Nadu, usually held in every May, was put-off due to the by-elections then. Now, the party has decided to cancel this year’s Maha Nadu.

Meanwhile, the party President N Chandrababu Naidu held a meeting separately with the leaders of Krishna district and discussed party affairs, with particular reference to Gudiwada MLA Kodali Nani quitting the party and planning to join YSRCP. He has alerted the district leaders to be ready to face by-election if Nani resigns his Assembly seat.

Nani a close associate of TDP’s Nandamuri Hari Krishna and his actor son Jr. NTR got TDP ticket because of the two. Though the TDP leaders claim that it was their charisma that worked in his favour in 2004 and 2009 when he won the seat despite winds strongly favouring the Congress, every politician knows that Nani’s victory was hard won and money played a key role. If Hari Krishna has a magic wand with which he could ensure the victory of his followers, why was he himself defeated as ‘Anna Telugu Desam’ candidate in 1999 and even lost deposit, question Nani’s supporters. Hari Krishna chose the Gudivada constituency as it was the birth place of N T Rama Rao, his father and founder of TDP, when he launched his own party wanted to take on Chandra Babu Naidu. TDP candidate Ravi Haragopal has defeated Hari Krishna then. Supporters of Nani are also questioning (though privately), why has the TDP not come to power in 2009, when Jr. NTR campaigned the party if his charisma was alone sufficient to win an election.

TDP leaders are stating that Nani had openly told them that he had spent Rs. 30 crore to get elected to the Assembly in 2009 and he was not sure of getting elected as TDP candidate in 2014 even if he spent that much or more.

Nani’s supporters are stating that he has taken the decision to switch his loyalty to the YSR Congress because a majority of the SC population (44,000) was now supporting Jagan. The Kamma community to which Nani belongs has only 9,000 votes in the constituency, which has a Muslim Population of 20,000 and Vysya population of 15,000. There are 30,000 BCs. Of the BCs, Kapus form a majority with 20,000 votes. Kapus who have a long-drawn battle with Kammas would not vote for the TDP, branded as a party of the community. With most of the local communities that form a majority of the voters supporting Jagan, the YSR Congress is clearly ahead of others, say analysts. It is because of this calculation that Nani has left the TDP, say sources.

Tara Chowdary who made sensational allegations against Congress MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, kept making references to him, though not naming him now.

Tara who was arrested for running a sex racket and blackmailing several persons including some police officers and politicians, has hit headlines when she has stated that MP Rayapati has offered her money for implicating his rival and minister Kanna Lakshmi Narayana in an abduction case.

Rayapati has dismissed this allegation and said he would give her Rs. 1 crore if she could prove her charge.

Talking to a Telugu TV channel on Tuesday evening, she said ‘That MP’ has asked for some girls to do massage to him. She said she sent some girls to him. She has also mentioned the names of one MLA and several police officers, who sought sexual favours from her or asked her to send girls. She said several people got ‘favours’ from her using her weakness for making it big as a film actress.

Stating that she had not done any wrong, she has blamed that ‘they’ made her a scapegoat, by forcing her commit wrong things. She said she has quit the film industry when she realized that it was not a bed of roses. Stating that she has received several phone calls from ‘that MP’ and his followers during 2008 and 2009, she said she was threatened and they even tried to kill her.

Releasing a call list, she said she was ready to face any punishment if her call list was proved wrong. Replying questions, she said she only saw TDP leader Revanth Reddy on TV and never met him. Likewise when asked about Jogu Ramanna, she said she did not even know him.

Tara Choudary has said that one MLA of Adilabad district was in her house getting body massage when the helicopter of Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy went missing.

Tara also said she had noted down the numbers of some people and recorded some of their conversations only because she faced life threat and not because she wanted to blackmail.

It may be recalled that Tara Choudary has already stated that one Adilabad MLA who was with TDP and later joined the TRS and one Andhra area MP have harassed her and her family.

Congress MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao who went to Tirupati on Monday has refused to comment on Tara Choudary’s remarks. Stating that people know all about him and his family, he said that he would not bother about her allegations.

Meanwhile TRS MLA of Adilabad district, Jogu ramanna has denied he knew Tara Choudary. It may be mentioned that Tara Choudary has made allegations that one MP, one MLA, one police officer of the rank of DG, one DSP and a circle inspector had harassed her. Tara has also alleged that film writer Chinni Krishna and police officer Shankar Reddy had sexually harassed her.

It looks like YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and his party MLAs have more or less decided to vote for United Progressive Alliance candidate Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential elections scheduled to be held on July 19.

There was a talk initially that Jagan party might abstain from voting as it does not want to vote for the veteran Congress leader because of the witch-hunting attitude of the Congress high command towards him. At the same time, it will not be able vote for National Democratic Alliance candidate P A Sangma, as it would send wrong signals to the minorities in the state. So, the best way is to abstain from the voting.

However, with Jagan filing a bail petition in the Supreme Court in which he requested that he should be allowed to vote in the Presidential elections, it is now evident that the party would definitely participate in the voting, instead of abstaining from it. So, which way the party would go? Party sources say Jagan would not go with the NDA candidate under any circumstances, as was made clear by him on several occasions. So, the only option is Pranab Mukherjee.

Sources say though Jagan is treating the Congress party with contempt, he has a lot of regard for Pranab because of the latter’s personal friendship with late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. So, Jagan party would vote for Pranab on this pretext of personal relationship between him and the YSR family, sources added.

TDP has dismissed Gudivada MLA Kodali Nani as a spent force soon after he has met the YSR Congress honorary president Y S Vijayamma and president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday. They have also suddenly realized that he was absolutely corrupt and a political prostitute. They have alleged that he has taken Rs. 30 cr. from the YSR Congress.

YSR Congress leader Roja has questioned how much Chandrababu Naidu has received when he hopped into the TDP, leaving the Congress party. She has also questioned how much TDP has given to Gali Muddu Krishnama Naidu when he has left Congress and joined the TDP.

One TDP MP has said that Nani told them that he had spent Rs. 30 crore during the 2009 elections and asked if the party would give him so much money to once again contest in 2014, as the chances of the party winning then were bleak. He said this was the presumption for their alleging that Nani might have taken or was assured of that kind of payment for contesting the by-election to be caused if he resigned for his assembly seat.

Though TDP is dismissing that Nani’s departure would not matter as he was not a force, political observers do not think so. There is a strong feeling that departure of Nani would lead to a series of departures from the party from the community including Vallabhaneni Vamsi, another Jr. NTR loyalist. TDP should not take this turn lightly. It should probe into the reasons why leaders were leaving the party instead of dismissing them as weak or useless candidates.