Andhra Pradesh former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu may have studied economics academically, but to say with sarcasm, botany is where his true passion lies.
He has a particular fondness for curry leaves (karivepaku in Telugu), which are often used in cooking but discarded after serving their purpose.
Political guru Rajagopala Naidu was the first mentor for Chandrababu Naidu, and he was like a curry leaf to him. Chandrababu gained power with his blessings but ran an opposing campaign against him.
Anjaiah, who was appointed as a minister, was indifferent and joined the party only after defeating NTR. He then started cultivating 'curry leaves.'
Chandrababu's practice is to gather those who are useful and set them aside as required.
Harikrishna and Daggubati were the most notable victims (curry leaves here), despite numerous others.
It is unclear what would have happened if Harikrishna had requested his father's seat, but he trusted Chandrababu's judgement.
He appointed him as a temporary transport minister to limit his power. Harikrishna held the post for several years, while Daggubati received nothing.
Junior NTR believed in Chandrababu's tactics despite being aware of this background. Chandrababu was afraid of NTR's popularity, so he used Jr NTR as a curry leaf to curry favor with him.
Chandrababu believes that if he is in trouble, everyone should come and work for him. However, if others are in trouble, he tells them to keep their distance. The most recent example is Ramoji Rao.
Chandrababu does not voice out about the ongoing Margadarshi issue because he knows that Ramoji has misappropriated funds.
If someone is involved in corruption, Chandrababu deals with them fairly. He leaves it to fate, saying that it is all their karma. Otherwise, Chandrababu would have advocated for Freedom of the Press, saying that there would be no loopholes in Margadarshi.
Chandrababu is like a fire that can consume even the truth, as seen in the 'note for vote' case.
We must wait and see how many more curry leaves will come to the surface in Chandrababu's realm.