Yet another wicket is down in the Telugu Desam Party ahead of the general elections to the state assembly and parliament in Andhra Pradesh.Senior TDP leader and MLA from Guntur (West) Modugula Venugopala Reddy on Tuesday resigned from the party and joined the YSR Congress party.

Though it was not totally an unexpected development for TDP president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, it is learnt the latter was trying to convince Modugula to stay back.It is learnt Modugula might get YSRC ticket either from Sattenapalli assembly constituency or Narsaraopet Lok Sabha constituency, which he had represented in the past.

In fact, as a TDP MP, he was one of the few leaders who had strongly fought against state bifurcation. In the Lok Sabha, he was physically assaulted by the Congress MPs during the passage of bifurcation bill.Apparently, Modugula had been sulking in the TDP for not being made a minister in the Naidu cabinet despite his loyalty.

In fact, Naidu gave him the MLA ticket only on the promise that he would be given the cabinet post. When it did not happen, Modugula openly accused Naidu of cheating him with false promises.Modugula’s joining the YSRC had been on the cards for quite some time, as there were reports that he is among the 40 TDP MLAs who might be denied the party ticket this time on the grounds of non-performance.

However, Naidu has been getting the feedback that Modugula has been hobnobbing with the YSRC leaders for quite some time.Though he wanted to contest the LS polls again in 2019, Naidu has not evinced interest. That is precisely why he joined the YSRC after waiting for a positive response from the TDP leadership.

Palakurthi MLA Errabelli Dayakar Rao who just sworn-in as the minister said, late NTR and AP CM had assured him ministry in the past but did not fulfill it whereas KCR stuck to his promise.

“It’s because of Lakshmi Parvathi that Telugu Desam founder late NTR could not give me minister post while Chandrababu Naidu offered and deceived me. I’m thankful to KCR that he gave his word and stood by it,” said Errabelli.

For over four decades Errabelli has been in politics. He scored double hat-trick by winning the elections six times. “I will try my best to live up to the expectations of KCR and also will work as team with all the leaders of Warangal,” said the Palakurthi legislator.

About the Warangal’s development, Errabelli said, “An outer ring road is needed for the city which fast expanding in all corners. Also this heritage city should emerge as a textile hub. I will focus on these during my tenure as minister. Will mingle with party senior leaders Kadiam Srihari, Madhusudhana Chary, Chandulal and Redyanayak.”

Bharatiya Jana Party which has been keen on tying up with its ally Shiv Sena has finally decided the seat-sharing formula with the party for Lok Sabha and Maharashtra’s assembly elections. The Shiv Sena will contest for 23 seats while the BJP will contest 25 seats for the General elections. For the state elections however, both the parties have decided to contest equal number of seats of the total 288 seats for the upcoming elections this year.

The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had been strained for quite a while as rift between Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackarey and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has been wide open. At the meeting, BJP National President Amit Shah declared that the BJP-Sena alliance will win 45 out of 48 seats in Lok Sabha.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackarey: “People are seeing Shiv Sena and BJP for past 30 years. For 25 years, we stood united, & for 5 years, there was confusion. But like CM said, I still provided guidance to the government from time to time.” Adding to this was Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis who said: “Our ideologies are similar. We have been in alliance for 25 years. Both of us want Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.”

Going by the alliance between the BJP and Shiv Sena, it looks like the BJP has come to a compromise with the Shiv Sena which has been vocally criticising BJP’s high-handed behaviour towards regional allies. Thackarey even went to the extent of threatening to break off ties if BJP did not mend its ways. For once, it looks like the BJP is making desperate attempts to woo its allies and retain its position in the Lok Sabha.

Mega brother Naga Babu is in the headlines for nearly a month and half for his critical comments on TDP and YSRCP. It is an open secret that Naga Babu is supporting his brother Pawan Kalyan and his party, Jana Sena in the upcoming elections.

Apart from the moral support, Naga Babu also extended a financial support by donating Rs 25 Lakh to the party as fund sometime back. On this donation, comedian and newly appointed state secretary of YSRCP, Prudhviraj made some comments. The comedian alleged that Pawan received the money from overseas but to the media and public it is being shown as Naga Babu and his son Varun Tej’s donations.

Reacting to this in an exclusive interview with a Telugu news channel, Naga Babu turned serious. ‘I did not see the video. Did Prudhvi make such comments? Really? Rey Prudhvi call me! You have my contact number, I will reply to you personally,’ said the Mega brother.

When the press person asked about the same, Naga Babu replied, ‘To whom should I prove that I gave money to my brother? I did not give any black money nor I will challenge others to check my bank transactions. I gave pure accounted money.’

Naga Babu also cleared that he doesn’t have Jana Sena membership and will not directly campaign for Pawan in the elections.

YSR Congress President Y.S Jaganmohan Reddy is being repeatedly criticized on social media for being unhelpful to a driver. The driver named Baya Reddy who lives in Raja Reddy Colony in Pulivendula reached out to Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for financial assistance for medical treatment.

This post is going viral on social media as Baya Reddy was Jagan’s grandfather, Raja Reddy’s car driver. Baya Reddy has been paralyzed for quite some time and has approached the CM Relief Fund for financial help for his medical treatment. Baya Reddy had submitted a grievance request to the CM Relief Fund officials. A cheque of Rs. 1.28 lakh was handed over to Baya Reddy’s family at his residence by TDP’s leader B. Venkatarami Reddy.

While this news has been going viral on social media, several people are pointing out about how Jagan has not helped out a driver who served his own family. “As someone who is so rich and boasts of crores of money, it is a pity that he could not help his own family’s driver. What a shame,” said one netizen.

On the other hand, TDP supporters and followers are using this as their tactic to criticize Jagan for being so ignorant that Baya Reddy had to reach out to CM Relief fund! Well, may be, Jagan needs to be reminded that charity begins at home.

He is silent. And this is not just a phrase. When Narendra Modi came to AP, he is silent. When oppositions of BJP met in Delhi, he is silent. When other parties are picking candidates, encouraging migrations and choosing their plan of action, he is silent. No one is asking to align with some opinion, but what is his own opinion?

These are questions that are lingering in the minds of Janasainiks at the moment as the Janasena president Pawan Kalyan remained silent on many happenings in recent times. With YSR Congress folks trying to pick all the prominent Kapu leaders into their fold such that Pawan will not win even a single seat in Godavari districts, definitely people who got attracted to Janasena in that aspect need some action from the boss, isn’t it?

At the same time, Pawan didn’t open up on BC meeting held by YS Jagan and Co where they have resorted to populist politics yet again by making a lot of unachievable poll promises. What has Pawan to say about this? Surely he needs to open up on the day to day politics as elections are just a couple of months away. And his silence is surely hurting, disappointing and demotivating his folks.

On the other hand, Pawan Kalyan and his screening committee are busy handpicking candidates for various assembly and Loksabha segments through a transparent process that is winning accolades.

At a time when senior leaders are leaving the Congress party in Andhra Pradesh one after the other, the party is desperately trying to make its presence felt in the ensuing general elections in the state, at least to some extent.

In the last two days, two senior leaders decided to quit the Congress party.

On Monday, former Union minister Kishore Chandra Deo announced that he would be soon joining the Telugu Desam Party, as the Congress has miserably failed to win the confidence of the people and prove its ability to come to power by defeating BJP led by Narendra Modi.

And on Tuesday, another former Union minister Killi Krupa Rani met YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy at his Lotus Pond residence in Hyderabad and decided to join the party.

Despite these setbacks, the Congress leaders have started a bus yatra from Anantapur to convince the voters that they are sincere about achieving special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, Cabinet Minister D.K. Shivakumar and other party leaders were present at the launch of the yatra. The yatra has been christened as Pratyeka Hoda Bharosa Praja Yatra.

State Congress chief N. Raghuveera Reddy is leading the bus yatra which will cover all 13 districts before concluding at Srikakulam on March 3. This yatra will cover a total of 2251 km and will conclude at Srikakulam district on 3 March.

During the Pratyeka Hoda Bharosa Praja Yatra, many state leaders, national leaders, party star campaigners will be taking part in the yatra.

PCC chief said that on 22 February, AICC president Rahul Gandhi will participate in the yatra at Tirupati and on 27 February AICC working president Priyanka Gandhi will be joining the yatra.

Let us see, if the Congress, which was completely wiped out of the state in AP in 2014, will make a comeback at least partially in 2019.

HOUSTON: An Indian-American couple was found dead in their home in an apparent murder-suicide at an affluent suburb in the US state of Texas, police said.

Police officers were called to the house in Sugar Land on Monday around 6 am.

They found the bodies of Sreenivas Nakirekanti, 51, and his wife, 46-year-old Shanti Nakirekanti at the scene.

They said Shanti was found with a gunshot wound to her head in the driveway of the home on Pendergrass and Sheffield Court.

Sreenivas was found in the bedroom with a gunshot wound to the chest and a small handgun nearby, police said.

Police said a preliminary investigation indicates Sreenivas shot and killed Shanti and then turned the gun on himself.

According to the authorities, their 16-year-old daughter was asleep at home at the time of the shooting. She answered the door for the police when they arrived and told them her dad was not coming out of the bedroom.

She was not injured. The daughter is now in the care and custody of friends, Sugar Land city spokesman Doug Adolph said.

Friends said the couple also has a 21-year-old son who attends the University of Texas.

“The two fatalities fits the scenario of a murder-suicide. This case is still under investigation,” said the Sugar Land Police Department (SLDP) in a press statement.

“There is no danger to residents and SLPD is not looking for any suspects,” it noted.

Police told local press there was no history of domestic violence. Friends of the couple told local media they had received an email from Sreenivas that day, but police had asked them not to share the contents of the note.

People close to the couple said Sreenivas was a director at an energy company in Houston and Shanti was a computer programmer, and they didn’t know of any problems between the two.

“He’s one of the best friends for a lot of people, and his wife is known to a lot of people here in the community. They’re also involved in some charitable organizations. We are really shocked. What went on inside, we don’t know, so we’re trying to get more details from the police once they complete their investigation,” said a longtime friend at the scene.

The murder-suicide is under investigation.

Hyderabad: A Congress leader from Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday announced her decision to join the YSR Congress party.

Killi Kruparani, also a former Union Minister, called on YSR Congress chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy at the latter’s Lotus Pond residence here and conveyed her decision to join the party formally at Amaravati on February 28.

Kruparani told the media later that she was impressed with the sops promised by Jaganmohan Reddy for the backward classes, while opposing the Congress’s alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

She also alleged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of taking a u-turn on the issue of Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.

Kruparani was elected to the Lok Sabha from Srikakulam constituency in 2009 but lost the polls in 2014.