The management of the popular Telugu television channel TV9, headed by My Home Group of Industries chairman Jupally Rameshwar Rao, is said to be furious about the way the channel was run over the past few years under the leadership of anchor-journalist Rajanikanth.
It has been an open secret that Rajanikanth had taken a stand in support of YSR Congress Party president and outgoing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in the last two or three years, after Rajanikanth was made its managing editor.
There is talk within the channel that Rajanikanth, who hails from Guntur, has become closer to the power center at Tadepalli. Insiders say he has been conducting debates on various political issues that would favor the YSRCP.
Apparently, he has been giving the impression to the management, particularly Rameshwar Rao, that Jagan would return to power in the 2024 elections, which would greatly benefit the company’s industries in Andhra Pradesh.
As a result, the management did not interfere in the channel's day-to-day activities, prioritizing business interests over news integrity. Even when Rajanikanth conducted pre-election debates favoring Jagan, it did not intervene.
However, when the election results came out and the Telugu Desam Party led by N. Chandrababu Naidu defeated Jagan with a significant majority, the TV9 management realized that Rajanikanth had misled them.
A day after the results, Rameshwar Rao reportedly visited the TV9 office and held a meeting with all the editorial and reporting staff to determine what went wrong with the channel's assessment of the Andhra elections.
After the meeting, Rameshwar Rao reportedly called Rajanikanth to his office and reprimanded him for misleading him into believing that Jagan would return to power. He alleged that Rajanikanth might have taken kickbacks from the YSRCP.
Rameshwar Rao also took serious note of cable operators in Andhra Pradesh blacking out the TV9 channel due to its pro-YSRCP stance.
“You will be held responsible if the TDP government shuts down my cement companies in Kurnool and Visakhapatnam,” he told Rajanikanth.
Rameshwar Rao directed Rajanikanth to take all necessary steps to perform damage control so that the channel would regain its prominence in Andhra Pradesh.
“I don’t care who you approach or whose feet you have to touch, but restore the channel’s credibility,” he said.
Now, Rajanikanth is trying to negotiate with the TDP using his connections with some senior party leaders. Otherwise, he may have to leave the channel and seek alternatives, sources added.
