Most Andhra schemes sport 'Chandranna' monicker

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a 'Chandranna mania' of sorts. In what appears to be an attempt to project himself as a 'messiah of the state', chief minister Chandrababu Naidu is naming most government schemes and programmes after himself. Seasoned politicians and analysts aver that no serving chief minister has resorted to this kind of exercise before. More than a dozen schemes have the Chandranna tag now - the latest being 'Chandranna Bheema' (insurance scheme for workers) unveiled on Sunday.This, in fact, goes against the TDP regime's tradition of naming all the government schemes after the party's founder N T Rama Rao. With the Chandranna tag carrying much weight, only two schemes - NTR Aarogya Seva and NTR Bharosa - remain in the honour of the late CM.
Naidu even outdid his Tamil Nadu counterpart Jayalalithaa, who dubs all welfare measures as 'Amma' schemes. "Naidu cannot call himself as 'Anna' as the term is popularly used to refer to NTR. People used to revere NTR as 'Anna' and certainly not Naidu," pointed out a political observer.
The Chandranna trend began with the civil supplies department naming the Sankranti gift pack for families below poverty line as 'Chandranna Sankranti Kanuka'. A similar name was given to a scheme for BPL Christian families as 'Chandranna Xmas Kanuka'. The next scheme to be named after Naidu was 'Chandranna Vyavasaya Kshetram' for farmers.
A majority of schemes with Chandranna prefix are of the social welfare department headed by minister Ravela Kishore Babu. These include 'Chandranna Dalita Bata', 'Chadranna Girijana Bata' and 'Chadranna Runamela' - a loan scheme for SCs/STs.
A scheme for the jobless youth also sports the Chandranna tag - 'Chandranna Udyoga Mela'. Another scheme, 'Chandranna Cheyuta', is meant for womens' self-help group. Die-hard followers of NTR are however livid over this naming exercise. "Naidu's intention is clear. Erase NTR from the public memory. But, he can never achieve that. Isn't it ironical that the government is naming schemes after a serving CM?" wondered former TDP minister Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao.
Even the project for laying cement roads in villages was named 'Vada Vadalo Chandranna Bata'. The medical and health department too christened its mobile health facility in villages as 'Chandranna Sanchara Chikista'. "The TDP had kicked off 'Chandranna Vijayalu' to celebrate the second anniversary of the Naidu government. The tag has percolated to every department," says a veteran TDP leader. If sources are to be believed, the animal welfare department is coming out with a new scheme 'Chandranna Pasu Seva' (ambulance for animals) under public-private partnership mode very soon.