Will Dadi find solace in Konatala's backyard?

Dadi Veerabhadra Rao, who has bid goodbye to Telugu Desam Party is all set to call on Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and join the YSR Congress Party soon after. The mulaqat at Chanchalguda jail in Hyderabad is likely to take place on Saturday.

Thus, his long and emotional association with the TDP will come to an end. It is ironical that a very important leader in North Andhra has left the TDP within a few days of its chief N Chandrababu Naidu celebrating the completion of the 2,000km and 200-day walkathon at a mammoth public meeting in Visakhapatnam.

It must be a difficult decision for Dadi. When Naidu tried to convince him through party colleagues on the need to stay on in the TDP, Dadi was understood to have demanded an MP ticket for him from Anakapalle and an MLA ticket for his son.

It is said that Dadi was also approached by Ghanta Srinivasa Rao, a minister who made Chiranjeevi, Union Minister for Tourism, speak to the TDP rebel. At one point of time on Thursday afternoon, there was a rumour that Dadi was all set to join the Congress in the presence of Chiranjeevi who is slated to visit Visakhapatnam on May 4, the same day Dadi is supposed to meet Jaganmohan Reddy.

Dadi is a powerful leader who is in a position to choose which party to join. Dadi is a remarkable politician. An acknowledged intellectual and an accomplished strategist, he was considered to be an asset to the TDP during the days of the party's founder NT Rama Rao.

He is good at studying material and supplying relevant information in bullet points to the top leadership on any crucial and complicated issue. He was particularly close to NTR. He was recruited by none other than NTR with whom he enjoyed an unlimited access.

When the charismatic leader and the thespian of Telugu cinema was thrown out of the TDP and the chief ministership in the second and final August crisis of his political life in 1995, Dadi chose to stay with NTR.

It was only after the demise of his leader that he walked into the TDP led by Naidu. There was no warmth in the relations between them till Dadi was made the floor leader in the Council.

An MA in Hindi, Dadi was working as a college lecturer in Hindi at Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam district before he became a politician. The correspondent of the college was Konathala Ramakrishna, now a leading light in YSRCP. The management of the college under Ramakrishna allegedly harassed Dadi, forcing him to resign from the job and join politics.

He joined the TDP in the presence of NTR. Konathala, too, was tempted by politics later, and he opted for the Congress. He was introduced to the Congress by the Dronacharya of North Andhra politics ' Dronamraju Satyanarayana.

Since then, Dadi and Konathala have been rivals in politics. Both of them, belonging to Gavara community, a Backward Class, rose simultaneously in politics.
Konathala was elected to the Lok Sabha and was made the convener of MPs from AP in Delhi. He also served as a minister in the State cabinet.

When Sagi Raja Kanna Babu, the then sitting MLA of Anakapalle, preferred to go with Nadendla Bhaskar Rao in the first August crisis of NTR's political career, Dadi was fielded from that constituency in the elections to the Assembly in 1985.

On getting elected to the Assembly, Dadi was made a minister and entrusted with the portfolio of Information and Public Relations. He was considered an efficient minister, a talented and impressive speaker and a shrewd analyst.

Dadi performed well as the TDP floor leader in the Legislative Council. He was confident that he would be given a second term. Naidu, however, did not take Dadi into confidence when he decided to field veteran BC leader from East Godavari district, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, former Speaker, in the elections to the Council.

The moment Yanamala's name was announced, Dadi burst out and flayed Naidu for not conveying the decision to him in advance. He took it as a grave insult and was unsparing and harsh in his criticism.

He commented that Naidu's padayatra would be of no use if he had no respect for BC leaders. It would be like walk ing 2,000 km forward and then travelling 3,000 km backwards, he commented. It was then that political observers felt that Dadi was bent upon leaving the party.

The day Dadi expressed his angry protest, he was understood to have received a call from Jupudi Prabhakar, a leader of YSRCP. Jupudi reportedly informed Dadi that Jagan was very much interested in him. The regular communication and effective persuasion by YSRCP leaders from Hyderabad resulted in Dadi's decision to leave the TDP and opt for the YSRCP.

The talk in the political circles is that Jagan would take care of both Konathala and Dadi, making such an arrangement in which there would not be any scope for clash of interests. Dadi is likely to be parked in Hyderabad as YSRCP's spokesperson and his son Ratnakar would be fielded from the Vizag West Assembly constituency in 2014 elections.

Dadi may be sent to the Rajya Sabha later. The departure of Dadi is a severe blow to the TDP. With this, almost all the important BC leaders, from Yadava, Gavara and Koppula Velama communities, would have joined the YSRCP.