Amidst hectic speculations over the appointments in nominated posts, Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is understood to have decided to appoint B R Naidu, chairman of popular Telugu television channel TV5, as the chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board.
According to latest reports doing rounds in the TDP circles, Naidu has preferred the TV5 chairman to former Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, who has also been extensively lobbying for the TTD chairman post.
Though Ramana had also been very close to Naidu in the past, there were reports in the past that he had moved closer to YSR Congress party president and former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in the last days of his tenure.
Apparently, Naidu got the reports that Ramana was responsible for the abrupt transfer of some of the judges who had given judgements against Jagan’s decisions in the past and had also played a key role in delaying the CBI cases against Jagan.
Since Naidu needs the support of media at this stage, he is learnt to have preferred B R Naidu, though there were pressures even from the top BJP leaders to favour Ramana, sources said.
The chief minister is also giving preference to those who could not be given tickets to contest the elections because of the alliance with the BJP and the Jana Sena Party.
Accordingly, former minister Devineni Uma Maheshwar Rao is expected to be given the post of AP State Road Transport Corporation chairman.
Similarly, former minster Peethala Sujatha is likely to get AP Scheduled Castes Commission chairperson post, while another former minister Kidari Sravan Kumar would be made chairman of AP Scheduled Tribes Commission.
Young TDP spokesperson G V Reddy is likely to be made chairman of AP Digital Corporation, whereas another spokesperson Komareddy Pattabhi will get the post of AP Civil Supplies Corporation and Praveen Kumar Reddy to be made APIIC chairman.
While Kavali Greeshma, daughter of former assembly speaker K Pratibha Bharati, will be made AP Mala Corporation chairperson, Vasam Muniah will be made chairman of AP Madiga Corporation.
Out of 90-odd corporations, the chief minister wants to appoint chairpersons and directors to as many as 30 corporations in a day or two.
The Jana Sena Party and the BJP also will get their respective share in the posts, sources said.
