What is the game plan ?

Want to know if anyone has done a behavioral study of TDP-cum-PRP-cum-Congress Minister   C Ramachandraiah. Why does he periodically come up with these ‘reiterating’ statements that K Chiranjeevi is more than qualified to become the next Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh ? And of course this would be immediately followed with a condemnation by                Mr Chiranjeevi himself that he is more than happy serving as Minister at the Center. Wonder what is the tacit understanding between the two ?

                                        

The best part of this duet is that, none – either from the Congress or any other political party, seem to take notice of what Mr Ramachandraiah is saying. I do not have much understanding of the political capabilities of Mr Ramachandraiah, except that I used to regularly see him in the TDP office, quietly going in and out of Chandrababu Naidu‘s chamber in the Assembly, when I first began reporting in 1997 or so. Unlike the vociferous gang comprising Indra Reddy, Madhava Reddy, Muddu Krishnama Naidu, Chandrababu Naidu and some others,  Ramachandraiah used to be very silent and when he addressed a press conference too, he used to deal the issues with intelligence and information; rather than resort to baseless diatribe against the  Congress party which was in power then.  I have heard some of my journalist friends describing Ramachandraiah as a sensitive and talented  politician who represents the strong Balija Community of Rayalaseema region. They predicted that he would have a very bright future in the TDP.

When he quit TDP to ‘foolishly’ embrace Chiranjeevi and his PRP, I wondered what has become of all his political acumen and intelligence; why was he tugging himself along with a novice, selfish and weakling  like Chiranjeevi ?

Coming to the present, let’s think for a while that Mr Ramachandraiah has acute problems of adjusting with the multifarious Congress party and its leaders. I don’t understand how that problem can be solved by eulogizing Mr Chiranjeevi at periodic intervals ? On the other hand I feel such maverick statements will further isolate Mr Ramachandraiah from the Congressmen who have till date not accepted Chiranjeevi and his herd as their own.

 Or if Mr Ramachandraiah wants to grab attention as a BC leader, then how eulogizing Chiranjeevi who is a forward caste Kapu, serve his purpose ? Or if he is floating the name of Chrianjeevi as a part of larger game plan for the future; then the question arises as to who in the Congress party is ready to accept or support such a proposal; except in the rarest of rare case where Chiranjeevi with all his charisma manages to get an impressive number of seats for the Party – at least in the two Godavari districts.

Above all, the nagging question that refuses to still leave my mind is, is Mr Ramachandraiah such a child to not know the calibre of Chiranjeevi and the complexities of the Congress Party to keep on recommending the name of the former for the Chief minister-ship.  And if he is doing it on purpose and if he is not alone – then who else is in it ? 

 

Why did Jagan do this to Konathala…

Since yesterday, many Telugu channels are breaking news about why the future Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Jagan Mohan Reddy has behaved so ‘rutheless and ungrateful’  with one of his trusted aides Konathala Ramakrishna. The issue being – Jagan has admitted one of Telugu Desam party’s important leaders  Dadi Veerabhadra Rao and his son into his party – the YSRCP.  Do not know,  whether the media is wantonly making the issue  ‘murkier’ or the ‘news’ genuinely deserves the coverage it has been getting for the last 48 hours. For Konathala too, what better way to vent his anger, disappointment, frustration, whatever.., than ‘use’ the television channels to his utmost advantage !

Leaving aside the media ‘guess work’ about Jagan’s political strategies and all, I look at the entire issue this way – First of all more than Jagan it is Dadi who has to be hailed for his political acumen and strategy. Because with a single stroke, more than his political future, he has paved a smooth passage for his young son,  whom he tugged along into the YSRCP. That is his biggest satisfaction as a father.  After all,  a real politician is one who keeps his ears open to the voices of the people and act swiftly.  Of course, who can be a better viewer of the political future of the TDP and its leader Chandrababu, than its own  seniors like Dadi ?

Now, why did Jagan antagonize his trusted man Konathala by admitting ‘political opportunists’ like Dadi, even at the risk of attracting adverse publicity ?  There could be several reasons. Foremost, may be he wanted to send a strong message to not only outside parties like the TDP, Congress and even the TRS; but also to his own Party men and women,  who have become complacent and taking their positions in the Party and constituencies for granted. To such men and women, he has sent the strong note – ” Dear party men/women,  don’t take the Party future or your future in Party as certain. Also, don’t think that the field is entirely yours. What the Party is now is not sufficient to achieve what we want to become in the future.  You  have to make sacrifices and if necessary accommodate several persons from several parties. Resolve differences and work unitedly.”

Most important, it looks like Jagan also  wanted to send an invitation  to his arch rival, the TDP, and also the Congress and even the TRS,  that the doors of YSRCP are not yet closed and that he is more than eager to welcome and assimilate them, even if they happened to be bitter critics of his Party and family till the previous day.