HYDERABAD: The going is good for sons of Prime Minister P.V Narasimha Rao in Andhra Pradesh politics. While his eldest son P.V Ranga Rao was kicked up the ministerial ladder in the change of leadership in the State last month his second son P.V Rajeswara Rao found himself in a key post in the party organization.

In a bid to keep the Prime Minister in good humor Chief Minister K. Vijayabhaskara Reddy elevated Ranga Rao who was a Minister of State in the Janardhana Reddy team to the Cabinet rank in his ministry. And not to be left behind the APCC president Majji Tulasidas included Rajeswara Rao as one of the nine general secretaries in the newly constituted executive of the PCC recently.

For Rajeswara Rao however it has been a meteoric rise. A businessman by occupation Rajeswara Rao was a nonentity in the Congress organization till his father ascended the throne of Delhi. He became the organizing secretary of the APCC when it was headed by V.Hanumantha Rao

Tulasidas who succeeded Hanumantha Rao had to function without an executive for more than seven months and only recently a team nominated by Delhi has been handed over to him to assist him in the organization work. What is significant in this context is that in spite of the criticism though feeble within the Congress over the importance being given on his kith and kin in the affairs of the party and government. The Prime Minister has allowed his son to take up an important part.

While Ranga Rao has been in politics for more than five years all attention in the party has now been garnered by his brother Rajeswara Rao. He walks into Gandhi Bhavan the state headquarters of the party with gun toting security man. It is only a couple of days since he took over as the general secretary of the party. But the feeling in the party circles is that Rao is all set to emerge as rival center of power thus diminishing the importance of the PCC president Tulasidas in course of time.

Forty five year old Rajeswara Rao began to nurse political ambitions nearly a decade ago when he unsuccessfully contested for the post in the legislative council from Telangana graduates constituency but lost the contest to T.Rajeswara Rao of the BJP.

Article extracted from this publication >> November 20, 1992