When Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu was in Rajahmundry central jail for 52 days in connection with the skill development corporation scam, several senior TDP leaders used to meet him during “Mulaqat.”
TDP state president K Atchennaidu, former minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and Gorantla Buchaiah Chowdary were among those who met him.
Some others did not get the chance, but they at least came down to Rajahmundry to interact with Lokesh or his mother Bhuvaneshwari.
Senior TDP leader and MLA from Uravakonda Payyavula Kesav, too, had a chance to meet Naidu in the jail once and the TDP chief told him to carry on the fight with the Jagan government on behalf of the party, especially on issues like Krishna water tribunal issue.
But Kesav was nowhere to be seen after that.
Let alone Rajahmundry central jail or even Bhuvaneswari’s camp office, Kesav hardly came to the TDP office at Mangalagiri regularly, except three or four times.
And there were no instances of Kesav taking up any major agitational programmes on behalf of the party. He did not even make any attack on the Jagan government on Krishna waters issue or any other public issues, party sources say.
But on Tuesday, when Naidu came out of the jail on interim bail granted by the state high court on health grounds, Kesav surfaced from nowhere at the jail.
Not only that, he sat in Naidu’s car in the backseat along with Atchennaidu and caught the attention of the photographers by moving close to Naidu.
“Maybe, Naidu himself had invited him to join him in the car, but it was Kesav’s strategy to prove that he is a close confidant of Naidu. Not all leaders in the party have this marketing technique,” a party leader observed.
One won’t be surprised if Kesav is the first person to jump the ship when he realises that it is sinking in the coming days!