Communications Advisor in the government of Andhra Pradesh, Parakala Prabhakar, has further strengthened his position.
In the past, there were many instances when AP CM Chandra Babu had tried to contain the increasing power of Parakala.
However, given the position and goodwill that Parakala's wife and union minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds in Centre has stopped Chandra Babu from touching Parakala.
Also, the English-speaking skills of Parakala were indispensable for Babu while holding meetings with his Singaporean counterparts. Added to this, Parakala strongly supported Babu when the 'vote for note' controversy broke out.
At one time, Babu did try his best to get rid of Parakala. But once again, he had to reconsider the move as Nirmala Sitharaman's clout in the Centre increased.
Now, Babu cannot replace Parakala as the move would mean hurting the sentiments of Nirmala. And having the husband of Union Defence Minister as his Communications Advisor is a plus to him.
To top it all, Parakala has remained true to Chandra Babu and even defended him when ex chief secretary Krishna Rao leveled allegations against Babu.
So in all, looks like Babu is in no position to replace Parakala any time soon. And going by the current situation, political analysts feel that Babu will be forced to offer Parakala a Rajya Sabha seat keeping in view the TDP-BJP alliance for 2019 elections.
