Vijayawada has been the epicentre of Andhra Pradesh politics for decades, irrespective of whether it was a combined state or the residuary state.
Naturally, the media in Vijayawada has always been vibrant in coverage of political news. The city has seen emergence of several outstanding political reporters over the decades, who had been seen with regard by the successive chief ministers of the state.
Even now, there are very good reporters covering the politics in Vijayawasda, but unfortunately, they have not been getting the same kind of recognition as their predecessors were getting.
In fact, political reporters in Vijayawada are facing a piquant situation these days. They have nothing much to do except covering routine press conferences by ministers and political party leaders, who are more interested in foul-mouthing their political rivals, rather than playing dignified politics.
For the first time, they have a chief minister who is not accessible to the media. Except on one or two occasions, present chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has never interacted with media in Vijayawada in the last two years.
Even the YSRC leaders have been treating the media persons with utter contempt and displaying intolerance when they face tricky questions from the media. Moreover, these leaders are attributing motives to such reporters.
Unfortunately, even opposition leader and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was once considered to be media savvy, has stopped interacting with the reporters in Vijayawada.
In fact, he hardly comes to Vijayawada and even if he comes, he doesn’t acknowledge the presence of the political reporters here.
All that the political reporters in Vijayawada are forced to do is to report the statements sent to them through WhatsApp.
Perhaps, no state has such a strange chief minister and opposition leader, who have utter disregard for the media!
