National News Report

Absence Of Top Andhra Pradesh Leaders From State Sparks Curiosity

After an exhausting two-month election campaign across Andhra Pradesh, the state’s political leaders have vanished from the public eye. Chief Minister and YSRCP chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu, and JanaSena’s Pawan Kalyan, who tirelessly campaigned in the scorching heat, are now overseas following the simultaneous elections for the assembly and Lok Sabha seats on May 13th.

According to The Print, the recent absence of these top leaders has sparked widespread curiosity and speculation. While Jagan’s European vacation with his family is well-known, Naidu and Kalyan’s whereabouts remain undisclosed. This secrecy also extends to Nara Lokesh, TDP general secretary and Naidu’s son.

Jagan’s last tweet on May 14th thanked voters “for their blessings,” while Kalyan’s last tweet on May 11th concerned the Padma awards. Naidu has occasionally posted on X, and Lokesh has been actively tweeting, even sharing a video of YSRCP MLA Pinnelli Rama Krishna Reddy vandalizing a polling booth in Macherla.

Political observer D.A.R. Subrahmanyam described Naidu and Kalyan’s absence as “somewhat mysterious,” stressing that senior political leaders should maintain transparency. He questioned why Naidu’s foreign tours are kept under wraps. Kalyan’s last known public appearance was during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nomination in Varanasi on May 14th, where Naidu was also present. Before going abroad, Naidu and his wife Bhuvaneswari offered prayers at the Kolhapur Mahalakshmi and Shirdi Sai Baba temples on May 16th.

The print reports also suggest that Chief Minister and YSRCP chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, along with his family, embarked on a European visit on May 17th, taking a special flight from Gannavaram airport near Vijayawada to London. According to reports, he is expected to return on June 1st, three days ahead of the election results. Short videos of him at a foreign airport and traveling in cars have surfaced on social media.

In stark contrast, the complete lack of visuals for TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu, his son Nara Lokesh, and JanaSena’s Pawan Kalyan has sparked questions from the YSRCP about the secrecy surrounding their travels. Senior minister Botsa Satyanarayana said, “Nobody knows where the state Opposition leader is. Naidu’s son Lokesh ran away three days before him. And the celebrity also (Kalyan), I saw in some news, went to a foreign land for an award ceremony. How can such big public personalities go on secret tours? What is the issue or danger in disclosing which city or country they are in?”

The minister further said that the TDP chief is neither in the US nor the UK and doubted “if Naidu would return to India or not, fearing another defeat”. The whereabouts of Andhra Pradesh’s top political leaders have become a hot topic, especially concerning TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu. YSRCP minister Jogi Ramesh suggested that even Naidu’s close aides in TDP and media supporters are unaware of his location. “While some say he is in a foreign country resting, others claim he is in the US for a medical check-up. Which version is true?”

The YSRCP leaders are also raising concerns about whether Naidu’s tour was permitted by the courts, as he is out on bail in the alleged skill development scam case following his arrest by the Andhra Pradesh-CID last September. In contrast, details about Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s European visit are public. Jagan, who left for Europe on May 17th and is expected to return on June 1st, received clearance from a CBI court in Hyderabad due to his ongoing disproportionate assets cases. Jagan has been out on bail since September 2013.

According to The Print, TDP-JanaSena leaders mocked the transparency claims, noting that Jagan’s trip became public only because he needed court permission. Meanwhile, a senior JSP leader remarked that they know Pawan Kalyan’s whereabouts and he is available when needed, adding that they are not obligated to disclose his location to Botsa or any court.

Nara Lokesh, when approached by ThePrint, confirmed that his family’s trips are kept confidential for safety and security reasons, a practice since 2004. “The entire family is together,” he added. Despite this, the TDP remains unsure about Chandrababu Naidu’s location, though a party leader mentioned that he is expected to return by Sunday or Monday, in time for TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao’s birth anniversary.

Meanwhile, the campaign efforts extended to the families of these political heavyweights. Naidu’s wife, Bhuvaneshwari, Lokesh’s wife, Brahmani, and Jagan’s wife, Bharathi, have been actively campaigning in the Kuppam, Mangalagiri, and Pulivendula assembly constituencies, respectively, while their husbands sought votes across the state. YSRCP ministers continue to question the secrecy surrounding these trips, contrasting it with the public knowledge of Jagan’s European visit, which required court permission due to his ongoing legal cases.

Dear Readers,
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.

Related posts