TDP ready with ‘Jagan coterie officer list’ and how EPS surprised BJP | Powertrip

Welcome to Powertrip, a newsletter exclusively curated for TNM subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, and Pooja Prasanna. In this issue, we look at how the TDP has made a list of officers seen as close to Jagan, BJP's Tamil Nadu woes with EPS and Karnataka BJP’s woes with Bajrang Dal..Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only.TDP is ready with its ‘will teach you a lesson’ listThe Telugu Desam Party is on a high; party members strongly believe they will sweep the Assembly elections slated for May 2024 and unseat Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. Recent surveys that predict the same has made the party bullish, and to top it, Amit Shah reached out to Chandrababu Naidu to rejoin the NDA.While the terms of rejoining the NDA are being worked out, TDP leaders tell us that they have a list of IAS and IPS officers ready who will face their wrath once TDP assumes power. This includes principal secretary and additional secretary level officers and certain top police officers too. The TDP’s allegation is that these officers had become a part of Jagan’s coterie and there will be investigations into their decisions. Naidu, in fact, has suggested that a retired judge should investigate some of these officers. The party also wants a detailed inquiry into the building of the capital Amaravati, and is unhappy with bureaucrats for allegedly covering the tracks for the government.It won’t be a surprise if the TDP does go ahead with action against officers, considering that’s the same path Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is going down. Some of the top bureaucrats, including IT and industries principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan and special chief secretary (Revenue) Arvind Kumar, are on the government’s radar. EPS surprises BJPWhen Edappadi Palaniswami became an ally, the BJP must have presumed that he would be a doormat. The saffron party was in for a surprise recently as all its attempts to reach out to Edappadi for a truce have failed. The AIADMK had a fallout with the BJP and walked out of the NDA in September 2023 citing Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai’s attitude towards the AIADMK as the reason. Multiple efforts have been made post that to patch up with the Dravidian party, which is the BJP’s only ticket to winning a seat in Tamil Nadu. BJP national secretary Arvind Menon tried to reach out to EPS through a ‘common friend’, but that too failed. EPS just isn’t in the mood for reconciliation.Meanwhile, a few state BJP leaders want to give the AIADMK a ‘shock treatment’, as they call it. Fervent attempts are being made to get at least one sitting AIADMK MLA to join the BJP. The state leadership wants this grand payback to play out on February 27, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Tamil Nadu to attend the last day of Annamalai’s six-month old yatra called ‘En Mann En Makkal’. But the plan to poach leaders is not limited to the AIADMK. The BJP is in talks with several leaders from the Congress as well and three-time sitting Congress MLA Vijayadharani is rumoured to be joining the BJP soon. BJP vs right-wing groupsThe BJP has a new problem in Karnataka – the Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) are furious with senior BJP leader R Ashoka and want him removed as Leader of the Opposition. The Bajrang Dal’s ire stems from a comment made by Ashoka in the Assembly that he had booked Bajrang Dal members under the Goondas Act during his tenure as Home Minister in 2009. Bajrang Dal divisional co-convener Puneeth Attavar hit out at Ashoka and that was reported by the media.What we have learnt is that Bajrang Dal and VHP leaders also met state BJP president BS Vijayendra on February 22 in Bengaluru and handed over a letter demanding Ashoka’s removal. The letter that TNM has accessed also asked for action against Ashoka and an unconditional apology from him. Vijayendra, we are told, listened to the Bajrang Dal patiently as he cannot afford to anger them; however, he made no promise to take any action against Ashoka. He conveyed to the Bajrang Dal that such a decision could be taken only by the national leadership. Ashoka, meanwhile, has apologised to the Bajrang Dal..Zero HourA political story of public importance.TNM-NL Investigation: 30 firms facing ED, IT probe donated Rs 335 cr to BJP.An investigation of EC records and financial statements over five years, and surveys by central agencies point to a pattern. Accusations of political funding being no less than extortion have found their way to news headlines in the past. An exclusive investigation..PowermovesTop 5 political storiesTNM-NL investigation: Congress demands probe into BJP's political donationsMotto of Karnataka residential schools changed, move sparks political debateVakapalli gangrape: Andhra government delays probe against accused ex-copIT dept freezes Jai Hind account: Political vendetta over DK Shivakumar investment?Telangana women’s reservation: BRS leader Kavitha seeks rollback of GO