Naidu@70: Jagan greets, why not Venkaiah, Pawan?

When Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu was in power, he used to be flooded with greetings from different corners of the country on his birthday, which falls on April 20.

Now that Naidu is out of power and the chances of his returning to power again are almost bleak, there were hardly 20-25 people who extended their greetings on Twitter, on his 70th birthday on Monday.

Even the closest of his friends preferred to avoid greeting the TDP chief, while his arch rival YSR Congress party president and chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy extended his best wishes to the former. “May he be blessed with happiness and good health,” Jagan said.

And Naidu, too, reciprocated the gesture from Jagan. “Thank you @ysjagan garu. Appreciate it much,” he said. Readmore!

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, who used to greet Naidu when the latter was the chief minister, conveniently avoided greeting him this time, notwithstanding the fact that the TDP chief has been making every effort to get closer to the BJP again.

However, some senior BJP leaders including Nitin Gadkari and his ex-colleagues C M Ramesh and Sujana Chowdary also extended their greetings to Naidu. Surprisingly, Naidu’s close friend and old pal Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu also did not wish him on the twitter.

What is more surprising is that Naidu did not get any greetings from his yet another friend, albeit indirectly – Pawan Kalyan, power star and Jana Sena Party founder.

Already out of circulation, Pawan has been staying away even from social media these days and might not have remembered Naidu’s birthday.

But, Pawan’s big brother and megastar Chiranjeevi showered praises on Naidu, while extending his birthday wishes.

“Your commitment and resilience over several decades in the service of people day and night is unparallel. I pray the Almighty to grant you happiness and health always. Wishing you a happy 70th birthday Sir @ncbn. Your vision, your hard work, your dedication are exemplary,” Chiranjeevi said.