Chameleon Chandrababu Kills Telugu Pride To Revive Flagging Political Career

Andhra Pradesh chief minister, Nara Chandrababu Naidu has proved to be the biggest chameleon in national politics. His four-decade long experience, which he constantly trumpets, is chequered with rank opportunism. A Congressman in the 1970s, he became NTR'S son-in-law and quickly jumped ship to join the newly-formed Telugu Desam Party at that time. NTR rode to power on anti-Congressism and Telugu pride back then. Chandrababu Naidu, as the larger-than-life chief minister's son-in-law, stood in the shadows and focussed on the party network.

As it turned out later, his skills at manipulating people and conditions to his advantage proved handy to Chandrababu Naidu a decade later. He dethroned the iconic NTR in one fell swoop and became chief minister of the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh.

Also Read: Chandrababu Meeting Rahul Gandhi Not In Line with TDP Ideals: TRS, BJP

Chandrababu jumped on to the Vajpayee-led NDA bandwagon and when the tide seemed to go against the BJP, distanced himself from the saffron party, only to hail Narendra Modi a decade later as a great visionary.

Chandrababu, forever the piggyback rider in politics, became chief minister after the TDP secured a slender lead, thanks to Modi and Jana Sena founder, actor Pawan Kalyan, who were part of the TDP-led alliance after the division of the state.

Suddenly, Chandrababu seems to have discovered the virtues of opposition united and standing up the BJP, as this tweet, following his much-publicised meeting with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other leaders.

His opportunism however, didn't go unnoticed. Veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta posted this tweet for observers, for keepsakes.

Others on the microblogging site were quick to post reminders of the TDP's hostility to the Congress till recently:

AIMIM supremo and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi tore into Chandrababu's claims of 'secularism.'

Rajya Sabha MP and BJP national spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao was equally unsparing of Chandrababu's opportunism: