It is close to two days since Raghurama Krishnam Raju was cold-shouldered by the BJP in his hopes of securing a ticket from the national party. Though he blamed YS Jagan for this saffron snub, the maverick leader appears to have been finally disillusioned in understanding the big picture. With this realisation slowly dawning upon him, he is now beginning to train his guns straight on TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu. In an almost blackmailing tone, he seemed to suggest that the TDP chief had no option but to nominate him.
In a latest interview given to a pro-TDP Telugu news channel, Raghurama Krishnam Raju said that the TDP would ill-afford to ignore him in the seat allocation as it would portray Chandrababu Naidu as a betrayer. When asked if he would be willing to be moved to Vizianagaram instead of Narsapuram, Raju shot back, summarily rejecting the speculated alternative for him.
“Forget about Vizianagaram. I should be fielded right here (Narsapuram). The BJP may have deceived (me) but the onus will be on the TDP to take care of my nomination. If he (Chandrababu Naidu), can’t keep his word and stand up to a person who fought for his cause, how will be able to secure funds from the Centre and complete projects like Polavaram?
“I almost got killed while fighting for his cause. Can he be trusted by the people if he can’t secure a ticket for such a man? So, that scenario won’t arise. I’m still hopeful that the BJP will realise its mistake that it got completely misled by its state unit. Even if the BJP fails to do justice, then the onus will be on the TDP and the Janasena to do justice to me,” Raju commented during the interview.
Many in the political circles who are aware of Raghurama Krishnam Raju’s tactics are seeing this as a clear case of blackmailing by the beleaguered leader. But will his tactics work with Chandrababu Naidu, who comes with ‘hardened’ experience of dealing with such scenarios, is the million-dollar question now. Now that Raju appears to have decided to take his fight to the TDP, everyone is anticipating a battle of wits between two Machiavellian-like leaders.