Will Andhra Pradesh remain Chandra Pradesh?

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><img align="left" src="/photo/548723.cms" alt="/photo/548723.cms" border="0" />Who says the Bharata war is confined to moth eaten tracts of history and the Ramas, Arjunas and the Krishnas of great epics are passe? For, with the pollbheri having been sounded, Swarnandhra Sarathi Chandrababu Naidu is back at the helm of his chariot raining down Brahmastrams on opponents.<br /><br />The vimanas are back and the maharathis are out in strength, crisscrossing the skies in helicopters and campaign jets, pretty much like an Indra or a Kubera — both of whom are said to have preferred air travel. In today’s Kurukshetra, the maharathis are thumping their chests — heaping scorn on rivals. One maharathicome-lately, K Chandrasekhar Rao of the TRS, for instance, kills with his barbs more than with his poison arrows. KCR, as he’s called, is adept at aerial warfare and ground offensives. He has a vimana and a ratham at his command. In Hyderabad, TDP and the BJP are firming up their alliance. <br /><br />In their trademark yellow shirts, TDP men are working out battle formations in conjunction with a somewhat smaller sea of saffron. There’s talk of dissonance on who’ll fight from which constituency and which partner will bargain for how many seats. But with a timetested partnership in place, these hiccups don’t seem to worth losing sleep over. TDP’s frontline fighters there are still being picked and it’s all about fine calibrations and the inputs provided by scouting parties on intelligence-gathering missions. Rumour is, Field Marshal Chandrababu trusts none other than himself with his judgments on his fighting force. <br /><br />The skirmishes on the fringes of the main battlefield are weighing on Naidu’s mind, his lieutenants say. The naxalites are out to get him. In the districts, they’re playing up. But the Swarnandhra Sarathi is banking on an ally he’s had for years now for support. He has asked for central forces and going by the early indications of the musket power likely to be at his disposal, the state would be crawling with central forces. <br /><br />It could actually be a situation where more than 30,000 paramilitary personnel will patrol the problem areas where People’s War guerrillas are holed up, while the TDP campaign rolls out. For their part, the naxalites are aware of the pitfalls of taking on the might of the security establishment and are sniping away at second and thirdrung TDP leaders. <br /><br />About a fortnight ago, they gunned down Krishnaji, a middling leader in Ranga Reddy district. But people who’re familiar with the area say that these threats can be controlled. For, with the securitymen in their pillboxes, the PW could well retreat into its burrows inside the forests of Srisailam. <br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="71.5%"> <colgroup> <col width="49.8%" /> <col width="49.8%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="49.8%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" fbfbfb=""> <div class="Normal"><img align="left" src="/photo/548724.cms" alt="/photo/548724.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> <td width="49.8%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" fbfbfb=""> <div class="Normal"><img align="left" src="/photo/548725.cms" alt="/photo/548725.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="49.8%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" fbfbfb=""> <div class="Normal"><img align="left" src="/photo/548726.cms" alt="/photo/548726.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> <td width="49.8%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" fbfbfb=""> <div class="Normal"><img align="left" src="/photo/548727.cms" alt="/photo/548727.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br />The TRS looks more like a one-man fighting machine. A crowd puller, Rao has been hopping from district to district spreading the T-word around. And, wherever he has gone, large armies of pink shirts have followed him. Rao sells the T-dream, but is aware of the need for national backing if this homeland were to come true. <br /><br />Hence, he has inked a pact with the Congress. "They’ll give us 42 assembly seats and six for Parliament and, more important, Telangana," he says. Congress does not confirm his claims. Another Telangana army is making inroads and could soon occupy centrestage in the final battle for Hyderabad. Chandrashekhar Rao, TDP-minister-turned-renegade is the commander of this brigade. Congress is also flirting with the Left. The idea is to consolidate the non-TDP, non-BJP vote. But talks are deadlocked over four constituencies. The imponderables are far too many. But, rest assured, whether Andhra Pradesh will be Chandra Pradesh the next time round will be a hard fought question.<br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Next Page: Constituency-wise Break-up</span><br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><br /><img align="left" src="/photo/548728.cms" alt="/photo/548728.cms" border="0" /><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -6"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="69.4%"> <colgroup> <col width="50.6%" /> <col width="49.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="50.6%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" fbfbfb=""> <div class="Normal">1. Adilabad<br />2. Nizamabad<br />3. Karimnagar<br />4. Pedapalli<br />5. Siddipet<br />6. Medak<br />7. Hanamkondra<br />8. Warangal<br />9. Bhadrachalam<br />10. Parvathipuram<br />11. Srikakulam<br />12. Bobbili<br />13. Vishakhapatnam<br />14. Anakapalle<br />15. Kakinada<br />16. Rajahmundry<br />17. Narasapur<br />18. Amalapuram<br />19. Eluru<br />20. Khammam<br />21. Eluru</div> </td> <td width="49.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" fbfbfb=""> <div class="Normal">22. Nalgonda<br />23. Nagarkurnool<br />24. Secunderabad<br />25. Hyderabad<br />26. Mahbubnagar<br />27. Miryalguda<br />28. Kurnool<br />29. Nandyal<br />30. Narsaropet<br />31. Guntur<br />32. Machilipatnam<br />33. Narsapur<br />34. Bapatla<br />35. Ongole<br />36. Cuddapah<br />37. Anantapur<br />38. Hindupur<br />39. Rajampet<br />40. Nellore<br />41. Tirupathi<br />42. Chitoor</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"></div> </div>