Ten years, he was out of power. Then he came to power literally promising the sun, the moon and the stars to people.
Now, it is nearly one year since Naidu has come to power and going by public opinion, his image is surely not what he would want to know about.
Of course, Babu is surely trying to be his energetic best and trying hard for investments from neighbouring states.
He is also going on trips to attract foreign investors and he is making sure he is in headlines.
But all those who had seen him 10 years back and who are seeing him now are in no doubt that Chandra Babu is no longer his past self.
The touch that made him popular in the past is surely missing say his detractors and staunch supporters.
Well, to be fair to Babu, he is surely not having it easy either.
His staff read AP administrative employees are not too keen on shifting base to the new capital as this would mean relocating from Hyderabad.
Now, their question is, if the whole idea is to shift to Vijayawada, then why is Babu building a new house in Hyderabad?
Meanwhile, the likes of Anna Hazare have openly criticized Babu for usurping huge tracts of fertile lands in the name of new capital city development. He also wrote a letter to Naidu saying that according to his sources on the ground, it was said that all farmers who gave up the land for capital did so under pressure from the ruling party.
Hazare also blamed Babu for strategically destroying the ‘Annapurna’ of the country.
And to make matters worse, KC Sivaramakrishnan who headed the committee appointed by Government of India to identify the new capital, has gone to press saying that he was particularly not happy with the ‘plans’ for new capital city.
Another glitch in Babu’s story is that he is surrounded by a coterie of overly greedy businessmen-turned-politicians who have various agendas and are forcefully ensuring that Babu does not think objectively.
On the other hand, to make matters complicated, despite being a poll allies, the BJP government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Modi has decided to cold shoulder Babu fearing his ambitious plans to become the prime minister some day.
As if all this was not enough, Babu himself is unable to overcome his love for Hyderabad and is hoping to recreate ‘another’ Hyderabad in Vijayawada, replete with Hussain Sagar.
And last, but surely not the least, this time around, Babu also seems to be under pressure to project his son Lokesh as the heir apparent even before fulfilling his pre-poll promises.
So, surely Chandra Babu has lost his magical touch and this could prove detrimental to his political future which anyways.
The farmers are angry for losing land and ending up with huge loan amounts while Rayalaseema people are convinced that Babu is unable to look beyond ‘his’ interests in capital zone.
