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Published Oct 09, 2025 | 9:21 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 09, 2025 | 9:21 AM
Vijayashanthi.
Remember Ramulamma — the yesteryear lady Amitabh who once walked tall in Tollywood, taking on villains with a glare and a gun? Well, reel life might be behind her, but the drama clearly isn’t. After hopping, skipping, and jumping across almost every political party, Vijayashanthi has now pitched her tent in the Congress.
Even though an MLC, she’s rarely seen in public. But when she does step out, she makes sure the political waters ripple — sometimes into full-blown waves.
And this time, she’s stirred the pot again — expressing her fear that the TDP might secretly help the BRS win the Jubilee Hills by-election, a contest the Congress is desperate to bag to end the pink party’s long reign.
On the face of it, though, her fears sound as odd as a cat fearing a mouse. After all, Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrashekar Rao are sworn enemies, and there’s no love lost between the two.
It was, in fact, Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) who made Naidu pack his bags and leave Hyderabad sooner than he’d have liked — though the bifurcation act had promised a 10-year joint capital.
Taking advantage of the infamous vote-for-note episode, KCR allegedly ensured Naidu’s hasty retreat, sending him off to those then desolate “winter woods” of Vijayawada. Ever since, Naidu has taken up residence by the Krishna River, trading the buzz of Hyderabad for the quiet hum of political plotting.
Now, back to Vijayashanthi. She insists that since the TDP is now part of the NDA orbit, things have taken a twist. In Andhra Pradesh, the ruling coalition, led by the TDP, includes the Jana Sena and the BJP as partners. With both parties on the same page, Naidu decided not to field a candidate for the Jubilee Hills by-election in Hyderabad, Telangana, where the BJP is contesting.
According to party sources, Naidu clearly told his leaders on Tuesday, 7 October: “Since the BJP is our ally, let’s stay out of the contest — and unless specifically requested, no need to campaign either for the BJP.”
The BJP, on its part, isn’t exactly rolling out a red carpet for TDP in Hyderabad; the saffron party believes TDP’s presence might stir old Telangana sentiments, which could tilt the mood back towards the pink party.
However, Ramulamma smells a rat. She stated that the BRS and BJP are covert allies, and the saffron party will field a “dummy candidate” to assist the pink party’s candidate in winning. Not stopping there, she dramatically claimed that the BJP itself had asked the TDP to lend a helping hand to the BRS.
Sure, politics makes strange bedfellows. But will it really make Naidu and KCR rub shoulders, though unseen, forgetting their bitter past and send the Congress packing? As they say in Tollywood — stay tuned for the next twist.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
