CHANDRABABU NAIDU'S ROAD SHOW IS NOT EXACTLY A GREAT SHOW

TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu has asked youth and women to fight against the government for closure of belt shops. "There are belt shops everywhere but there is no drinking water rural areas," he said.

Addressing meetings at Kothavalasa and along the route to S Kota, Naidu, who reached Jangalapalem, the border village, two-and-half-hours behind schedule from Visakhapatnam in an open top jeep, said, "My only wish is too see the poor and the farmers happy. The TDP will stand by them."

Expressing satisfaction with the good response from public to his roadshow, Naidu said NTR had founded the party with an aim to uplift the poor, and the partymen would rededicate themselves to cherish the founder’s goal.

He said that the State government had neglected the poor and encouraged contractors during its over three-year-rule. It was ready to allot hundreds of acres of land to rich entrepreneurs, but it was against giving 60 sq yards for construction of houses to the poor, the TDP president said.

The government acquired 350 acres of land in near Kothavalasa for a glass factory and paid Rs 1 lakh per acre as compensation to farmers. After the entrepreneur went back, the government sold the same land at Rs 3 lakh per acre to a cement factory, he said, and criticised the government’s anti-people policies.

He assured farmers of support in their fight against Jindal’s Alumina.

Earlier, at Jangalapalem and at Kothavalasa, Naidu unveiled the statues of late NTR. Party senior leaders P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, M V V S Murty, Y Ramana Murty and others accompanied him.

UPA GOVERNMENT SHOULD SCRAP NUCLEAR DEAL

Naidu said the UPA Government should scrap the nuclear deal with the United States in deference to popular opinion.

In a brief chat with reporters at the Vizag airport, he said the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) would bring pressure on the coalition not to budge under pressure from the Bush administration.

Stating that the deal would be counter-productive and not in the larger interest of the nation, he said the UPA would be held responsible if elections were thrust on the public.

Naidu said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were acting like agents of the US, and feared that the US would start implementing its hidden agenda once the deal came into force.

He said only the Congress was keen on implementing the deal and claimed that all other major parties were totally opposed to the agreement known as 123.

HAS CHANDRABABU NAIDU PLANNED HIS US TRIP TO CASH IN ON BALAKRISHNA'S POPULARITY?

Let's make one thing clear right at the outset. Chandrababu Naidu has a way of planting stories in the media. For two reasons. One, he has the media in his pocket. And two, he does it so subtly that even the seasoned journalists can't figure out his moves. The latest rumour which is doing the rounds is that Balakrishna might accompany Chandrababu Naidu on his US visit at the end of the month. While Balakrishna is going to attend the TANA conference, what is Naidu going to do there, we wonder. Piggyback on Balakrishna's popularity? In normal circumstances, they would have been miles away from each other's reach. And Naidu wouldn't even be crossing the path of any member of the NTR family. But, now Naidu is ploughing a lonely furrow in terms of popularity, and he has no choice but to cash in Balakrishna's soaring popularity in the US of A. And get some mileage for the sagging image of the party in the eyes of the people. Therefore, it is reported, that he has been using all his clout to muster the goodwill and popularity of the Non-Resident Telugus in the US to boost his image. And that is what Naidu desperately needs back home to kick off his electoral campaign. And Balakrishna becomes the best bait for him, especially now after their bonding becoming stronger with Chandrababu's son Lokesh's engagement to take place with Balakrishna's daughter Brahmani in the last week of August. Towards this end, we are told, that Naidu even "arranged" an invite through his contacts in TANA. Quite possible. For you can never underestimate the guile of Chandrababu Naidu. He knows where to sow his wild oats. And if the opportunities are not ripe in India, which they are definitely not, as everything he touches is bouncing back on him, he would start from abroad. But, will he be successful in taming Balakrishna? That is the million-dollar question right now.