Cheers and whistles greeted Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who as is his wont, presented an electrifying speech instilling confidence among the delegates that his government was here to stay.
However, he cautioned the party cadre that they need to actively take the party schemes to the grass roots.
The long speeches of the leaders who introduced the resolutions to be adopted were a bit let down so much so that the attendees whistled some of them down. The Chief Minister himself noticed this and jocularly asked them to cut down the speeches lest claps and whistles would continue till they stop.
Hope for sitting MLAs
The Chief Minister dismissed the media reports that nearly 50% of sitting MLAs and MPs would not get renomination and said it was mere speculation. He said almost all the elected representatives would get the party tickets and those with negative reports now would be asked to improve their performance.
“We will not get better candidates from the existing ones,” Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao said giving lot of hope to several MLAs.
KTR not named
The CM personally referred to the names of the ministers who did well and attributed the success of all flagship programmes to their hard work.
He referred to Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao and Deputy CM Mahmood Ali, while he left out his son K. Taraka Rama Rao and referred to him as just the Municipal Minister.
Spoils the mood
The road to the TRS 17th plenary at a private function hall in Kompally was painted pink, and the enthusiasm of the delegates was bit high till the security arrangements to the venue almost spoiled the mood. The service road abutting the national highway was closed for several kilometres and delegates had a tough time walking long distances to reach the venue in the scorching heat. Police constables posted along the route did not let in anyone onto the service road. There were many arguing with them but they would not listen citing orders from the higher-ups.
Sumptuous food
Despite separate enclosures for various groups, police and volunteers had a tough time controlling the crowds at the dining hall. Sumptuous lunch was served to the delegates and the invitees.
