About Mr. N. Chandra Babu Naidu,CEO of Cyberabad.

Hyderabad:Our unanimous choice for this maiden section on the Business personality of the month has been non other than Cyberabad's Hi-Tech CEO, Mr. N. Chandra Babu Naidu. In the entire 400 years of history of Hyderabad, every since Mohd. Quli Qutab Shahi built the landmark Charminar in 1591, Chandra Babu naidu since then, is the only personality to bring techno-fame to Hyderabad by establishing the Hi-Tech city which has put our city among the most sought after investor destination of India - a feat quite remarkable of politician in Indian today's pathetic batch of politicians.

No wonder this model Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh was cited as one of the top 50 stars of Asia by the Business week magazine and his efforts in promoting Information Technology in Hyderabad has been commended by several international magazines, including Time.The counrty's youngest Chief Minister, at 48, son of a farmer from Naravarapally District, an M.A. and Ph.D in Economics, Mr. Naidu is already a global name.In fact no other state is being marketed to investors the way A.P. is Multimedia presentations, information on CD-ROMs, personal interaction with Industrialists, and industry associations have become a part of Naidu's weekly schedule.Naidu's biggest coup is the decision of Microsoft to come to Hyderabad, thanks to the presentation he made to Bill Gates. Thereafter it has been very easy to convince other computer majors like IBM and Oracle. For all that Mr. Naidu has been done for the Hyderabad leap towards Information Technology, we at Reach-out Hyderabad along with all our site visitors, do acknowledge his vision and hereby given him a standing ovation while declaring him as our choicest Maiden business Personality of the month.

Sahyadri Kala Utsav ends

IN SYNC: Folk artistes performing the Kolatam dance at the Sahyadri Kala Utsav in Adilabad on Thursday.

ADILABAD: Guruji Ravinder Sharma of Adilabad Kala Ashram was on Thursday chosen as mukhiya or head of the working group called panches of Rashtriya Karigar Panchayat (RKP) during the concluding session of the three-day Sahyadri Kala Utsav.

Also elected unanimously as panches were Yogendra Kumar of Chirala in Andhra Pradesh, Prabhudas of Melghat in Maharashtra, Kisanbhai of Bardoli in Gujarat, Anand Ballabh Joshi of Kausani in Uttaranchal and Nirmala of Muzaffarpur in Bihar.

The three-day festival of artisans saw planners and thinkers burn midnight oil to chalk strategies for the betterment of traditional artisans and craftsmen.

Eminent personalities in the field like Dr. Mahesh Sharma, a former Chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Dr. Vibha Gupta, president of the RKP and the Magan Sangrahalay at Wardha in Maharashtra, Sunil Deshpande of Sampoorna Bamboo Kendra of Melghat, Prabhakar Pusadkar of Magan Sangrahalay, Basantbhai and Ram Kumar conveners of RKP and many others from associated with working for traditional artisans.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma stressed upon periodical review of the functioning of the RKP for charting out a new course continuously.

About 700 artisans from different States in the country came to participate in the convention.

Children’s fare

Green Park hotel will conduct a special event on Friday afternoon for children and their parents at its The Meadows.

Titled ‘Naughty but nice’, the event promises unlimited fun, games, gifts, magic show, and unlimited food with a specially designed menu, a live band and dance floor. The menu includes vegetarian soft noodles, Manchuria, American Chowpsy, assorted vegetarian Sezwan style, Punjabi samosa, vegetable puff, assorted dosas, chat counter, pav bhaji counter, ice creams, hot jalebi, soft drinks and much more, according to unit head of the hotel K.M. Rao.

US polls: First result from New Hampshire goes in favour of Obama

ASHINGTON: Democrat Barack Obama confidently sensed victory in his historic bid to become America's first black president as he wrapped up a

Barack Obama waves as he enters a rally at the Prince William County in Manassas. (AP Photo) More Pictures

marathon two-year campaign. Republican John McCain however, stubbornly promised an underdog upset in Tuesday's election. ( Watch )

Obama came up a winner in the first official results announced early on Tuesday from two small towns in New Hampshire, where a tradition of casting the first votes on election day lives on.

Obama defeated McCain by a count of 15 to 6 in Dixville Notch, and the town of Hart's Location reported 17 votes for the Democrat, 10 for the Republican and two for write-in Ron Paul. Both towns had favored George W Bush in the last two elections.

The rivals, separated by 25 years and a seemingly unbridgeable political gulf, had agreed on one thing during the longest presidential campaign in US history- their promise to slam the door on the era of George W. Bush.

But they were deeply at odds over how to fix the nation's crumbling economy and end the 5 1/2-year war in Iraq, the issues that sent Bush's job approval plummeting to a record low at the end of his 8-year presidency.

Record numbers of Americans were expected at polling stations across the US adding their ballots to 29 million citizens who had already voted in 30 states. The early vote tally suggested an advantage for Obama, with official statistics showing that Democrats voted in larger numbers than Republicans in North Carolina, Colorado, Florida and Iowa. All four states voted for Bush in 2004.

Sad news overshadowed the campaign on Monday when Obama announced the death of his grandmother, whose personality and bearing shaped him deeply. Madelyn Payne Dunham was 86 when she died of cancer late Sunday in Hawaii.

``She's gone home,'' Obama said, tears running down both cheeks as tens of thousands of rowdy supporters at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte grew silent as he announced Dunham's death. The family said a private ceremony would be held later.

He explained to the North Carolina audience how Dunham inspired his campaign by her lifetime of hard work and sacrifice.

``In just one more day we have the opportunity to honor all those quiet heroes all across America,'' Obama said. ``We can bring change to America to make sure their work and their sacrifice is honored. That's what we're fighting for.''

Obama wrapped up his campaign by speaking to a crowd estimated at more than 70,000 people in Manassas, Virginia, near the site of the first major battle of the American Civil War that ended slavery, before heading home to Chicago to await the election returns.

McCain, a 72-year-old four-term Arizona senator, ended the contest on Monday with a frantic and grueling dash through several traditionally Republican states still not securely in his camp or even leaning to Obama.

McCain stopped in Florida, Virginia, Indiana, New Mexico and Nevada. And he again passed through Pennsylvania, the only state that voted Democratic in 2004 where he still hoped for a win.

McCain, too, promised to turn the page of the era of George W. Bush and said he sensed an upset in the making.

Cong, TDP poll surveys predict Chirudoom

HYDERABAD: Internal surveys by the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party

apparently seem to claim that Chiranjeevi may draw crowds, but would not be able to transform them into votes. Reliable sources in the two major political parties say that the Congress survey points to the ruling party getting at least 137 seats, while the TDP survey points to N Chandrababu Naidu’s party getting around 140 seats.

However, the respective surveys seem to say that the entry of Chiranjeevi has voters polarised on caste basis, particularly in Krishna, East and West Godavari districts. According to the TDP survey, Kapus (including the sub-castes like Balijas, etc) constitute about 22 per cent of the total population, but it is unlikely that Chiranjeevi would get all the votes of his community.

"Chiranjeevi has die-hard fans in the Congress and the TDP, as has been indicated by the crowds that he attracted in the north coastal region, but our survey indicates that all this will not transform into votes for him," said TDP parliamentary party leader K Yerranaidu.

Both the surveys also seem to warn the respective parties that first-time voters will be attracted to Chiranjeevi. Because of the entry of Chiranjeevi, the surveys indicate that Kammas, who constitute about nine per cent of the state’s population, are preferring the TDP as their first choice and, ironically, Congress as their second. Reddys, who constitute about eight per cent of the population, appear to prefer the Congress as their first choice and, again, ironically, the TDP as their second preference.

Women, the Backward Classes and upper castes, have been found by the surveys as ‘undecided’ and possibly tilt towards Chiranjeevi. Hence the surveys command the Congress and the TDP to immediately focus on these sections.

The TDP survey sees price rise, alleged corruption in irrigation and housing projects as going against the Congress, while the ruling party survey points to same development schemes, rural employment guarantee scheme, the Rs 2-akg rice scheme and ‘pavlavaddi’ as the sops that would fetch the party the 137 seats.

However, both the surveys left a margin of 30 to 40 seats either way depending on the possible alliances that can materialise between the Congress on the one side and the TDP on the other. "The TRS, T Devender Goud and the Left parties will have a say on these 30 to 40 seats depending on which of the two main parties they sail along with," said one leader.

UNLIKELY HERO?

Cong survey gives the party 137 sure seats while TDP survey claims the party will win in 140
Both surveys wary of first-time voters’ tilt to the actor

NTP ‘declares’ Telangana State

HYDERABAD: As the Nava Telangana Party (NTP) ‘declared creation’ of Telangana State here on Sunday, its cadre went berserk and damaged four RTC buses in front of the Chikkadpally police station where party president T. Devender Goud was held.

Mr. Goud and 350 NTP supporters were taken into custody by the police as they tried to proceed to the Secretariat from Indira Park following the ‘self-declaration’ of the State. The party gave a call to a large gathering which participated in a public meeting at Indira Park to change the name of ‘Andhra Pradesh Secretariat’ to ‘Telangana State’.

Mr. Goud boarded a packed open truck to Chikkadpally police station but the rest of his supporters were shifted to the Gandhinagar police station. The refusal of the NTP president to leave the station until all those detained at Gandhinagar were released triggered trouble.

The activists who were set free at Gandhinagar gathered at Chikkadpally and pelted stones on buses, injuring one of the drivers. The mob also staged a dharna and burnt an effigy of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in front of the police station, paralysing traffic on the main thoroughfares. Mr. Goud left the station only after the tension subsided.

Earlier, Mr. Goud asked the crowd to replace the name ‘Andhra Pradesh’ with Telangana on the signboards at all government offices since the new State had come into being. The letters ‘AP’ should be replaced with ‘TG’ on the number plates of all vehicles which should also bear stickers embossed with the name and map of Telangana. The ‘declaration’ of the State was made amid release of 10 pigeons, each symbolising a district of Telangana, by veteran leader Konda Laxman Bapuji.

Yuva Garjana will focus on corruption: TDP leader

Kakinada: The district in-charge of Telugu Desam Party’s ‘Yuva Garjana’, Y.B. Rajendra Prasad, has exuded confidence that the programme will earn a place in history as an unprecedented event in spite of the Congress attempts to create problems. “The government has, for instance, refused to supply the full number of RTC buses requested by the TDP whereas the RTC was made to deploy a huge number of its vehicles at nominal charges during the visits of AICC president Sonia Gandhi. The TDP is, however, undeterred by such cheap tactics which are meant to undermine its efforts to expose the government’s wrongdoings,” he said.

Dig at YSR

Addressing media persons here on Sunday, Mr. Rajendra Prasad said that the TDP would explain to people, particularly youth on whose shoulders lied the burden of protecting the State’s resources in future, how the Congress leaders were achieving personal advancement in collusion with contractors.

“Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has earned the dubious distinction of being one of the most corrupt Chief Ministers in the country and he was able to sustain his goodwill in the party high-command by sending money bags,” Mr. Prasad alleged.

“The Yuva Garjana will focus on corruption in high places, which has become the bane of people of Andhra Pradesh. Besides, the Congress has failed to keep many promises it had made during the 2004 elections. To compound the people’s woes, it sought to promote projects like the coastal corridor and Special Economic Zones which were obviously intended to benefit capitalists. The people will be therefore asked to exercise their choice properly and be not lured by the overtures of the ruling party,” Mr. Prasad added.

TDP district president N. Chinna Rajappa said nearly 40,000 party activists from the district were expected to take part in Yuva Garjana.