If reports surfacing from media circles are to be believed, popular Telugu television news anchor and founder-CEO of TV9 group of channels V Ravi Prakash is moving his pawns in a systematic manner to return to the helm in the same channel shortly.
According to these reports, Ravi Prakash has now got into the good books of Bharat Rashtra Samithi president and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in the last few months, thanks to the initiative taken by an industrialist-turned-BRS MP.
Sources said Ravi Prakash has cleverly started moving his pawns after KCR fell off with industrialist and My Home group chairman Jupalli Rameshwar Rao post-inauguration of Statue of Equality of Saint Ramanujacharya at Shamshabad on the outskirts of Hyderabad in February this year.
Rameshwar Rao, along with Megha Engineering group MD Krishna Reddy, has taken over Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd (ABCL) at the instance of KCR and kicked out Ravi Prakash from it, though he was the founder-director. The BRS government targeted him and even tried to throw him behind the bars.
Since then, Ravi Prakash has been lying low and has been playing behind the screen role for some channels, besides a digital newspaper called “Tholi Velugu,” attacking the TRS government and the two industrial groups – My Home as well as MEIL, unearthing several scams.
Particularly, Tholi Velugu has become very popular with the expose of several alleged real estate scams involving Phoenix, Sumadhura, Vamsiram etc, on which Income Tax raids took place in the recent past. It also carried several stories against KCR’s family members including K T Rama Rao and Kavitha.
But in the recent past, this digital newspaper has started adopting soft corner towards KCR and his government and was carrying reports against alleged witch-hunt of Kavitha and other BRS leaders by the Centre.
This led to the talk that Ravi Prakash is getting closer to KCR’s family. It is learnt he, with the help of an industrialist-turned-Rajya Sabha MP of the BRS, sent feelers to KCR for a patch-up.
At the same time, KCR is looking for a powerful media man to counter the BJP at the national level. He entrusted the task to his son K T Rama Rao to talk to Ravi Prakash and strike a deal.
As part of it, KTR has reportedly decided to take over Tholi Velugu digital media for a hefty amount and retain Ravi Prakash as the head. He is expected to expand the same into a full-fledged mainstream media.
At the same time, KTR is planning to buy the majority stake in TV9 as well and send Rameshwar Rao out but retaining MEIL. He is likely to entrust the responsibility to run the channel to Ravi Prakash.
Thus, Ravi Prakash is expected to return to the same channel, which he had lost control of nearly five years ago!
