Old habits die hard. This adage can be made applicable to the erstwhile PRP which despite its merger with the ruling Congress seems to have not yet shed its role as an opposition party!.
Apart from the founder President of PRP, Chairanjeevi, many senior members of the party including the Endowments Minister Mr. C. Ramchandriah have been acting like opposition leaders by taking pot shots at the Congress leadership, at times not sparing even the Chief Minister, on various issues.
Many Congress loyalists are aghast over the attitude and behavior of Mr. Ramchandriah who of late has been has been voicing the disappointment and frustration of the earstwhile PRP members allegedly for not being given the due recognition in the Congress. “ It is nothing but a blackmailing tactics to grab lucrative positions in the government”, charged one ruling party leader.
One cannot ignore the fact that Mr. Chiranjeevi, with an eye for the Chief Minister’s post, tried to fully exploit his image as a mega film star to float a political party (PRP) with an eye on the 2009 elections. Despite its thunderous launching to take on the Congress on the political field it ended with a whimper in the elections. It was an utter flop show as the PRP managed to win only 18 Assembly seats despite its vitriolic onslaught against the Congress party. Even as an opposition party, the PRP could not make a mark in the eyes of the masses.
While the party has been waiting an opportune moment to jump the fence, what with the growing frustrations among the party legislators, the non-functioning of the Congress administration has come as a boon. The party played its game cleverly in coming to the rescue of the Kiran Kumar Reddy government during the no trust move. Thus it maneuvered to merge with the ruling Congress.
Not satisfied with just merging with the Congress, the PRP wanted its pound of flesh was coming to the rescue of the government and exerted pressure to grab two ministerial posts – Mr. Ramchandriah and Mr. Ganta Srinivas. However, Mr. Chiranjeevi was not satisfied with this and wanted that he too should be rewarded with a plum post in the central cabinet.
The Congress high command had been dangling the carrot by assuring him a ministry in the union cabinet but for some reason or other had been dilly dallying to take a firm call on it. In fact for Mr. Chiranjeevi the central minister’s post has been only a mirage till now. Thus Mr. Chiranjeevi cleverly and diligently started leaning on the shoulders of his protégé Mr. Ramchandriah to fire the salvos at the Congress leadership with the obvious objective of pressurizing the High Command to induct him in the uniministry.
As Mr. Chiranjeevi’s induction in the central cabinet has become a certainty some time after Dassera festival, the former PRP leaders are no wanting their due share in the nominated posts which the Chief Minister is contemplating to fill up in a phased manner. Many of the former PRP legislators are pinning their hopes on Mr. Chiranjeevi to reward them once he becomes a central minister.(NSS).