Page 38 - Andhra Pradesh

LS polls: FM bonds with southern students over lunch at Andhra Bhavan

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a surprise visit to the iconic Andhra Bhavan in the heart of Delhi on Saturday, two days before polling in the Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, interacting with some students of Delhi University. Speaking to around 20-odd students from the two Telugu-speaking states as well as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, Sitharaman discussed issues ranging from education and politics to the economic situation, in what appeared to be an attempt at outreach ahead of the May 13 elections in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where the BJP aims to expand its base. Polling for Andhra Pradesh's 25 Lok Sabha and 175 assembly seats will be held simultaneously on May 13. Telangana's 17 Lok Sabha seats will also go to the polls on the same day. As the students savoured their lunch, Sitharaman seamlessly transitioned into the role of a caring mother figure, ensuring they were eating properly. "I am listening, you please eat," she gently reminded th

LS polls: People of disputed Kotia to cast votes in both AP, Odisha

Armed with two voter cards issued by two states, over 5,500 electors of the disputed Kotia region are eligible to exercise their franchise in both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha elections in the fourth phase on May 13. Twenty-one of the 28 villages of the picturesque Kotia cluster are claimed by both states and a case over the dispute has been pending with the Supreme Court since 1968. Due to the dispute, residents of Kotia get the best of both worlds since they have Aadhaar and ration cards issued by both states and receive the benefits of schemes announced by the two governments. "I will vote in both states. While the Andhra Pradesh booth is nearer, the one established by Odisha for our village is at Ransingh, and to reach there we have to trek a few miles. Nevertheless, we will participate in polls of both states," Tamal Kanaya, a resident of Tadivalsa village, said. "We are not bothered about the dispute between the two states. We vote in both states because we benefit from the sche

LS elections: Andhra CEO reviews poll preparation 72 hours before voting

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on Thursday took stock of the arrangements made for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections 72 hours prior to the polling day in the state on May 13. The CEO called on the officials from across departments to ensure the elections are held in a "peaceful, fair, and exemplary" manner. "The final moment has arrived. Next three days are crucial and all districts' election machinery must be vigilant to avert any untoward incident or voter influencing tactics," Meena said in a press release. He directed officials to ensure that every voter in the state is able exercise his franchise and there is no hurdle for voters streaming in from neighbouring states. He instructed the district collectors and superintendents of police to make sure that the government employees attend the duties entrusted to them. The CEO directed them to monitor sensitive polling stations from the command control centres and set up a strong ...

'Corrupt' YSRCP govt in Andhra will be thing of past after Jun 4: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh will be a thing of the past after June 4 as people are fed up with "corruption, cronyism and mafia raj". Modi said this after a roadshow here. "Due to its strong link with Congress culture, YSRCP has only furthered corruption, cronyism and Mafia Raj. Andhra Pradesh is totally fed up of the YSRCP. Come 4th June, their government will be a thing of the past," he said in a post on 'X'. The prime minister said that after travelling across the southern state recently, he was convinced that people were voting for the NDA alliance of the TDP, BJP and the Janasena in large numbers. Women and young voters are propelling this surge of support, he said, calling the roadshow memorable. Modi said the BJP and the TDP have worked together in the past and their alliance was committed to futuristic development, while the active support of the Janasena has further fortified the coalition. He noted that the people

RINL seeks Andhra's intervention for supply of coal from Gangavaram Port

Andhra Pradesh-based steel maker RINL has sought the state government's intervention to ensure immediate supply of coking coal stuck at Adani Gangavaram Port. The coking coal supply has been stuck since last month due to agitation of workers at AGPL (Adani Gangavaram Port Limited), which is operated by Adani group company Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ). In a letter to Visakhapatnam district collector, RINL CMD Atul Bhatt said the operation of the firm is in a highly critical position due to lack of the most essential raw material coking coal which has been stuck at Gangaravam Port since April 12 this year due to agitation of AGPL workers. "We request district administration and police to provide necessary security so that the transportation of critical materials i.e. coal is shifted by RINL peacefully through its own loaders and dumpers," Bhatt said. A query sent to AGPL did not elicit an immediate response. According to Bhatt, more than 1,000 employees of RINL and trade union leader

LS polls: PM Modi to address public meeting, hold roadshow in Andhra today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday address an election meeting in Andhra Pradesh's Annamayya district and hold a roadshow at Vijayawada in NTR district. The meeting is scheduled around 2 pm at Kaliri near Rajampeta while the roadshow is expected to commence around 5 pm from the Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium on Bandar Road in Vijayawada. "Let's welcome our Prime Minister who is coming to Rajampeta to give an assurance for the aspirations of Andhra people," the Andhra Pradesh BJP said in a post on 'X' on Tuesday. Wednesday's public meeting is going to be Modi's third in the southern state in the run-up to the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls on May 13. It comes in the wake of two recent meetings at Rajamahendravaram and Anakapalli recently, preceded by the first NDA election meeting at Boppudi village in Palnadu district's Chilakaluripeta mandal on March 17 after the announcement of the election schedule on March 16. N Kiran Kumar is the BJP's Lok Sabha candid

LS polls: ECI censures Jagan Mohan, Chandrababu Naidu for flouting MCC

The Election Commission on Monday censured YSRCP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and opposition leader N Chandrababu Naidu for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), directing them to remain careful during public utterances. The poll body recognised that both the leaders have violated the provisions of the MCC by attacking each other with derogatory personal attacks during public addresses while electioneering in the southern state over the past several days. Therefore, the Commissionstrongly censures Jagan Mohan Reddy, president, YSRCP with the direction to remain careful in his public utterances in the future, said Avinash Kumar, Principal Secretary, Election Commission, in an order addressed to the chief minister. Kumar issued a similar order to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo Naidu. The Election Commission took note of Reddy hurling taunts such as habitual offender', rogue', sadist', and others at Naidu, including portraying him as a villaino

LS polls 2024: PM Modi to address two poll rallies in Andhra Pradesh today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two NDA election meetings in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, featuring alliance partners N Chandrababu Naidu from the TDP and Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan. The first meeting is scheduled in the afternoon at Vemagiri in Rajamahendravaram, East Godavari district, followed by another one later in the day at Anakapalli. "The Prime Minister is expected to land at Rajamahendravaram airport around noon. He will address his first meeting here at 3:30 pm and then proceed to Anakapalli for the second meeting scheduled at 5:30 pm," a BJP leader said. The PM's meetings , titled "Prajagalam" (people's voice) in the southern state follow the first NDA poll rally at Boppudi village in Palnadu district on March 17, in the run-up to the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on May 13. State BJP chief D Purandeswari is contesting from the Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha seat. She will take on the YSRCP's G Srinivasulu. The saffron party's C M Ramesh is fighting

PM Modi to address two NDA election meetings in Andhra Pradesh on Monday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two NDA election meetings in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, along with alliance partners TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and Janasena chief Pawan Kalyan. The first meeting is scheduled in the afternoon at Vemagiri in Rajamahendravaram, East Godavari district, followed by another public meeting in the evening at Anakapalli in the eponymous district. The prime minister is expected to land at Rajamahendravaram airport around noon. He will address his first meeting here at 3.30 pm and then proceed to Anakapalli for the second meeting scheduled at 5.30 pm, according to a local BJP leader. The twin PM meetings dubbed 'Prajagalam' (people's voice) come ahead of Andhra Pradesh's simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections on May 13. The first NDA election meeting was held at Boppudi village in Palnadu district's Chilakaluripeta mandal on March 17. Andhra Pradesh BJP chief D Purandeswari is contesting from the Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha seat. She will t

Discontent among coffee planters over dues out in open in Andhra's Araku

Growing discontent among coffee planters over unpaid dues from the government may emerge as a significant electoral issue in the Araku (ST) Lok Sabha constituency in Alluri Sitharama Raju district in Andhra Pradesh. The YSR Congress is aiming to score a hat trick in the segment while the NDA is slugging it out to wrest the seat from the ruling party. In 2019, YSRCP candidate G Madhavi won the seat with a margin of over two lakh votes. This time the ruling party has fielded Chetti Tanuja Rani, a doctor, while former MP Kothaplalli Geetha, a BJP contestant, was pitted against her by the NDA. Geetha won the seat in 2014 on YSRCP ticket and later floated her own outfit, which was merged with the BJP. The CPI (M), as part of the INDI alliance also fielded P Appala Narsa, who may potentially split the opposition votes. Perched at a height of 1000 m above sea level in the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh, Araku boasts of producing coffee beans with distinctive flavours which has gained .

APSDMA forecasts heat waves for 227 mandals in Andhra Pradesh today

Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA) managing director R Kurmanadh said 227 mandals in the state are expected to experience heat waves on Saturday. Of the 227 mandals, 58 of them would experience severe heat waves, while 169 are expected to witness heat waves, he said. "Severe heat waves have been forecast for 12 mandals in Srikakulam district, Vizianagaram (23 mandals), Parvatipuram Manyam (14), Visakhapatnam (one) and Anakapalli (eight)," he said in a press release on Friday. Heat waves are predicted in 13 mandals in Srikakulam district, Vizianagaram (three mandals) and one each in Parvatipuram Manyam, Nellore, Sri Satyasai, West Godavari and Annamayya. Similarly, Alluri Sitaramaraju and Krishna (nine each), Visakhapatnam (two), Anakapalli (10), Konaseema and Tirupati (five each), Kakinada (17), East Godavari (four), Eluru (11), NTR (six), Guntur (14) and Palnadu (22) are to witness heat waves. Heat waves have also been forecast for three mandals in Bapatl

Andhra: Politics not '5-minute noodles', needs patience, says Pawan Kalyan

Politics is not a five-minute noodles and one can not expect quick results as leaders have to earn the trust of people by withstanding turbulence and setbacks, Janasena founder and actor Pawan Kalyan has said. Janasena, TDP and BJP are NDA partners in Andhra Pradesh for the May 13 polls. Comparing the vision of the National Democratic Alliance for Andhra Pradesh, and that of the ruling YSR Congress party in the state, he said the former has got more credible leadership, people with commitment and experience. He appealed to the people to vote for the alliance, alleging that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy completely damaged and messed up the state during the last five years. "You have to understand. We all think that politics is a fast food (and expect) fast food results. You want to make it immediately. You want results immediately. It is not a five-minute Maggi noodles. When I look at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash, when I look at Ramana Lohia, all the elders, even Mr Kanshi Ram, they

One voter, two votes: How Kotia villagers navigate blurred border dispute

While Odisha provides essential services, such as schools, anganwadi centers, water supply points and employment guarantee, Andhra focuses on benefits, including 35 kg of rice compared to Odisha's 5kg

49 Lok Sabha, 318 Assembly candidates withdraw nominations in Andhra: CEO

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Kumar Meena on Tuesday said 49 Lok Sabha candidates and 318 Assembly candidates have withdrawn their nominations for the May 13 simultaneous elections in the state. Consequently, the number of candidates contesting the 25 Lok Sabha seats got pruned to 454 and the 175-member Assembly to 2,387 candidates, the CEO said. "Following the withdrawal of nominations on Monday, April 29, 454 candidates will contest from the 25 Parliament constituencies and 2,387 from the 175 Assembly constituencies, said Meena in a press release. After the scrutiny of nominations on April 26, the Election Commission rejected 183 out of 686 Lok Sabha nominations and 939 out of 3,644 Assembly nominations. It accepted 503 Lok Sabha and 2,705 Assembly nominations which now stand at 454 and 2,387 after the withdrawals.

LS polls: Andhra Pradesh NDA partners release welfare-heavy manifesto

TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday unveiled the election manifesto of NDA partners TDP, Janasena and BJP in Andhra Pradesh, featuring "super six" promises and several other welfare-centric schemes. Elections for the 175-member assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled to be held on May 13. The highlight of the manifesto is the "super six", which includes Rs 1,500 monthly pension to women in the age bracket of 19 to 59 years, 20 lakh jobs for youth or Rs 3,000 monthly unemployment aid, and free bus travel for women. "We conducted a thorough exercise on this (manifesto). Both TDP and Janasena sat together and came up with it. We also took some suggestions from BJP before going ahead," said Naidu while releasing the manifesto at his Andhra Pradesh residence in Undavalli, Guntur district. The other schemes under the "super six" are three free cooking gas cylinders to every household a year, Rs 15,000 to every school-going child per annum and Rs 20,000 annu

Naidu confident of regaining Andhra Pradesh with overwhelming majority

TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has said the anti-incumbency wave coupled with failure of all institutional frameworks will ensure his party sweeps both assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh as people have 'realised' the ruling YSR Congress has failed to live up to all its promises. The former Chief Minister who is fighting to regain power in the state, expressed confidence that the TDP-BJP-Jana Sena Party (JSP) combine will win 24 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats and 160 of the 175 assembly seats comfortably in the simultaneous elections to be held on May 13. Naidu (74) said the YSRCP came to power on the promise of getting a special status to AP but the issue has been relegated to the background as people are struggling to deal with alleged mismanagement of every government department. The state has gone into huge financial debt to an extent that people have not received salaries and pensions, he added. "There is a tremendous anti-incumbency. YSR Congress has destroyed the

Coromandel International to invest Rs 1,000 cr to set up plant in Andhra

Coromandel International, which is mainly in the fertiliser business, will invest Rs 1,000 crore to set up a plant to produce phosphoric and sulphuric acid at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. In a regulatory filing, the company said it has "commenced the project activity to set up its Phosphoric Acid-Sulphuric Acid complex facility at Kakinada". The company's Executive Chairman Arun Alagappan participated in the groundbreaking ceremony on April 26. "With an estimated outlay of Rs 1,000 crore, the project is expected to be commissioned in two years' time. The proposed 650 tonnes per day (tpd) phosphoric acid facility is designed with advanced DA-HF (Dihydrate Attack-Hemihydrate Filtration) process technology and automated DCS system," it said. This will enhance backward integration capacities and provide stable supplies of phosphoric acid for its fertiliser manufacturing by replacing more than 50 per cent of the Kakinada plant's imported acid requirement. The company also plans to set u

Located on river bank, Srisailam Assembly poll focuses on water crisis

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'water water everywhere but not a drop to drink' line aptly describes the paradox of rural families of the Srisailam assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh, who battle to get water although living near a dam. Many of the residents of Sunnipenta village in Srisailam mandal, located just 5-7 km away from the Srisailam dam, are getting piped water supply once a week and at times once in ten days. The low level of water in the dam owing to lack of rainfall has further aggravated the water woes here, an issue which has taken the centre stage in the political campaign ahead of the May 13 Assembly polls. Out of five mandals in Srisailam Assembly Constituency having around 1.9 lakh voters, the problem of water shortage is acute in Srisailam and Atmakur mandals. "We have lived with water scarcity for many years and nothing has changed. It's been seven days, there is no piped water supply, " said Hussain who runs a cold drinks shop at the Sunnipenta bus stand. Ahe

Politicians dole out sops to woo Andhra voters despite rising debt in state

Ahead of the Assembly polls, the state's economic health is in focus as it has consistently breached the fiscal deficit in eight of the last 10 years since Telangana's formation

Disburse pensions using DBT, doorstep delivery during MCC: EC to Andhra

The Election Commission has directed the Andhra Pradesh government to utilise direct benefit transfer (DBT) and other alternative arrangements to distribute welfare schemes to beneficiaries during the period of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), an official said on Sunday. Disbursal of pensions assumed significance and controversy in the run-up to elections after the poll body restrained government volunteers from carrying out welfare duties until the period of the MCC ends. Ruling YSRCP and the opposition NDA alliance of TDP, BJP and Janasena traded allegations over alleged hardships faced by beneficiaries while receiving pensions in April. Shashi Bhushan Kumar, Principal Secretary, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department said the poll body ordered the state to follow its guidelines in letter as well as spirit to ensure that no beneficiary faces any hardship to avail the benefits when the MCC is in effect. The payment of pensions through DBT using Aadhaar enabled Payment Syst