Strange are the ways of Telangana Congress party. Having faced a huge debacle in the recent assembly elections, it wants to prove its identity at least in the Lok Sabha elections by winning at least half a dozen MP seats out of 17 in the state.

Interestingly, the Telangana Congress leaders want the grand alliance formed during the assembly elections continue in the Lok Sabha elections as well. But there is a difference.

They want to contest in all the 17 seats; yet, they want the support of their alliance partners – the Telugu Desam Party, the Telangana Jana Samithi and the Communist Party of India.

It would mean, the Congress does not want the three alliance partners not to contest the parliament elections but support it in all the 17 seats.

There is no question of sharing any MP seats with the Praja Kutami allies. In the interest of the state, they should support the Congress, a PCC leader said.

“If the TDP, TJS and CPI are genuinely interested in ensuring that the TRS does not win too many Lok Sabha seats as was the case with it in the recent assembly elections, and if these alliance partners really want to unseat Narendra Modi led BJP government at the centre, they should not contest the Lok Sabha elections but support the Congress candidates in all the 17 parliamentary seats,” the Congress leader said.

In any case, the TDP and TJS and CPI have the least chances of winning any MP seats in Telangana.

May be, the TDP will field its candidates in Khammam and Adilabad, but the other two parties have no chances of winning any seats.

Does AP’s new capital will be shifted from Amaravathi, if TDP loses and YSRCP wins in upcoming AP Assembly polls?

Though even a school boy can say with complete authority that it is not possible to shift AP’s capital from Amaravathi to any other location at this stage, the TDP leaders are trying to create doubts and apprehensions among AP people with this false propaganda.

With Assembly polls nearing, the ruling TDP leaders have started an absurd campaign saying that capital city will be shifted from Amaravathi, with an aim to create panic among people in Krishna and Guntur districts.

TDP chief and AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu is learnt to have given his nod to his partymen in Krishna and Guntur districts to take up this campaign after it was brought to his notice that this is the only way they can check YSRCP which is on a full swing in both these districts.

In 2014 elections, both these elections played a crucial role in TDP coming to power.

TDP won 12 out of 15 Assembly seats in Guntur district and 11 out of 16 seats in Krishna district.

With Amaravathi capital city coming up in this region, people benefited a lot due to realty boom over the past five years.

However, the latest reports suggest that TDP had lost ground in both these districts and YSRCP has emerged stronger.

To counter this, TDP leaders have started a campaign that if YSRCP wins polls, Jagan will shift AP’s capital from Amaravathi to Prakasam or Ongole, which will lead to real estate crash in Krishna and Guntur districts and people will suffer huge losses.

It remains to be seen how people in both these districts will receive this campaign which makes no sense after Rs 2,000 crore was spent on construction of Secretariat, Assembly, High Court buildings etc in Amaravathi.

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday will visit Kolkata to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and express his solidarity.

After presentation of the Vote-on-Account budget in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, Naidu will fly to Kolkata, where Banerjee continues her sit-in to protest against the attempted raid by the CBI on the residence of Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office, Naidu will reach Kolkata around 3.30 p.m. and meet Banerjee and extend his support.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader was among the first to condemn the happenings in Kolkata on Sunday night. He termed it as a glaring example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah destroying the institutions.

Naidu also said that attacking political opponents in different states, few days before the Parliament elections, will have disastrous consequences in the country.

“After opposition parties started uniting and started to fight together to save democracy, the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party is losing all hope. The misuse of institutions by the union government to victimise political opponents in states is reaching dangerous proportions,” said Naidu.

Once a sharp critic, aggressive detractor of KCR, Congress leader Jagga Reddy seems to be a changed man. Of late, Jagga Reddy is praising KCR, KTR & family. His latest statement on KTR and Harish Rao have become talking point in TRS and Congress circles.

Jagga Reddy said KTR is an honest man. He claimed that he has got benefited twice due to KCR. However, Jagga Reddy continued to attack Harish Rao. He said it was Harish Rao who had put him behind the bars. Jagga Reddy said he has no personal rivalry with KCR and his family. By differentiating between KTR and Harish Rao, Jagga Reddy has stirred up the hornet’s nest.

Jagga Reddy said he had first become MLA when TRS party was launched. He said he had brought his daughter to the fore into politics when he was jailed. He said he has differences with Harish Rao. He alleged Harish Rao of resorting to “blackmailing politics”.

At the same time, Jagga Reddy has also hit out at Congress party. He said only people who lobby in Congress would get good posts. He said people like him can’t lobby and don’t have people who lobby for him on his behalf. Jagga Reddy said Congress president Rahul Gandhi should give assurance to leaders like him who are in troubles. He said over 75 percent of Congress leaders have financial woes.

Former evangelist and Praja Shanti Party founder KA Paul, who is desperate for alliances, has made an open offer to Janasena president Pawan Kalyan. KA Paul said he is ready to give as many seats as Pawan Kalyan wants. But KA Paul’s condition is what is shocking many. He said he will offer as many MLA seats to Pawan’s party but he said he wants Pawan to support him for the Chief Minister.

While Pawan Kalyan himself wanting to become Chief Minister, the moot question is why will Pawan support KA Paul as the CM. What is further irony is if KA Paul gives majority seats to Pawan’s party, then Pawan indeed will become the CM even if they win those contested seats.

This is indeed evoking laughs. Interestingly, KA Paul warned Pawan Kalyan that the latter cannot win single seat if he contests alone. He said Pawan would get only 5 percent of votes across the state. KA Paul’s comedy offer to Pawan has become a butt of a joke.

TDP might have lost the support of a section of mega fans following the fell out of Pawan Kalyan with Chandrababu Naidu. However, TDP has now got the support of Mahesh Babu’s fans. With the joining of Adi Seshagiri Rao into TDP and he extending complete support of all the fan groups of Ghattamaneni and Mahesh to TDP, Chandrababu is having a big smile.

As already Mahesh Babu’s own brother-in-law Galla Jayadev is representing Guntur Lok Sabha constituency from TDP, now the addition of Mahesh’s uncle and Krishna’s brother Adi Seshagiri Rao is expected to give additional strength to TDP in Guntur and Krishna districts.

Interestingly, Adi Seshagiri Rao reasoned that he has joined TDP to support progress, development of the new state. He appreciated Chandrababu Naidu for initiating pro-poor schemes including doubling of pensions. He wished that Chandrababu Naidu should become CM again in order to continue the development works and capital construction works.