Why was TDP's most credible face in Delhi conspicuous by his absence in the hectic deliberations? Clearly, not many who don't wholeheartedly buy into Naidu's grandiose plans for the Andhra manage to prosper.
Where was Ashok Gajapati Raju, the only Telugu Desam Party (TDP) representative in the Union Cabinet, when the high drama over Andhra Pradesh's special status package unfolded in Delhi's North Block over the past two days?
Why was TDP's most credible face in Delhi conspicuous by his absence in the hectic deliberations between key ministers such as Arun Jaitley, urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu, and Andhra lobbyists such Sujana Choudary, the minister of state for science and technology?
So who was there?
Sujana Choudary, TDP boss N Chandrababu Naidu's Man Friday in Delhi, has pitched a tent in North Block over the last few days.
The images of Choudary, his mobile phone constantly pressed to his left ear (a key feature of Andhra's busy politicians), were constantly played on Andhra's news TV channels. This drove home the point that he was deeply involved in the process of package preparation.
The other guest artist, mostly seen on the sidelines, was CM Ramesh, a TDP Rajya Sabha MP. Both Choudary and Ramesh are contractors without a history of having won any election to lower house of parliament.
They derive their strength from the business empires they run even though they don't have much of a following among TDP rank and file.
Civil aviation minister Gajapati Raju's invisibility at this crucial juncture and the disproportionately large role played by Choudary and Ramesh has become a talking point in the power corridors of Andhra, with both TDP and YSRCP leaders discussing it in the Assembly lobbies today.
The total absence of Ashok Gajapati Raju has given rise to the doubts about the motive of the special package 'drama’ staged simultaneously at New Delhi and Vijayawada, on the eve of the Assembly monsoon session.
Ashok Gajapati Raju represents the Vizianagaram constituency in Lok Sabha.
“Raju might have been kept in the dark by Naidu, or he might have chosen to stay away because the whole thing appears to be a politically motivated campaign,” felt Visweswar Reddy, YSRCP, MLA.
Among TDP politicians, Raju, an incredibly upright and down-to-earth operator, is a rare breed. He has displayed no interest in petty politicking. He loves to stay put in his hometown rather than loitering in Hyderabad’s power corridors when not in Delhi.
The most uncontroversial of the TDP leaders, Raju a member of the erstwhile Vizianagaram Royals, has no business interests anywhere in the country.
There are no court cases against him or his family members, and he isn't a “fund-raiser” for the party.
If the special package was really an apolitical matter demanded solely for the welfare of the state, as it has been projected, how is it possible to keep an MP of Raju's stature out of the loop?
Perhaps Raju’s no-nonsense approach to politics and rectitude has made him a persona non grata in TDP's inner circles.
In the past two years, the civil aviation minister is the only TDP senior functionary kept himself away from the mythologies that the party was busy spinning around the building of the new capital in Amaravati or the proposed construction of 14 new airports in 13 of the state's districts.
Not many who don't wholeheartedly buy into Naidu's grandiose plans for the Andhra manage to prosper. That probably explains why the civil aviation minister was kept in the hangar by his party chief.
