Will Bhuvaneswari do a Rabri Devi in Andhra politics to keep TDP afloat?

Nara Bhuvaneswari’s entry into the rough and tumble of Andhra politics following her husband N Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest in an alleged corruption case reminds one of Rabri Devi’s foray into Bihar politics after her husband Lalu Yadav stepped down as the chief minister following his arrest in the fodder scam in July 1997.

Initially many poked fun at Rabri’s inability to sign documents and chair meetings of IAS officers. Many laughed when she was not able to read out the prepared Hindi text. The Opposition BJP used to challenge her to recall the names of her cabinet colleagues and their portfolios. However, it did not take her much time to learn the tricks of the trade so well that she earned a reputation of being better than many of her predecessors. Later her anointment was considered as Lalu’s masterstroke. She continued in the office till 2005 preventing RJD from being obliterated.

A similar predicament, her husband’s arrest in an alleged skill development programme scam, has forced Bhuvaneswari to take a plunge into politics. Would she be able to rescue the TDP from the existential crisis and keep the party morale high for the assembly elections which are just six months away?

Tough road ahead

Bhuvaneswari is no way better placed than Rabri Devi to lead the party, even though she is the daughter of former Chief Minister NT Ramarao, wife of another former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, and mother of Lokesh, a former minister.

Though she is looking after the family business of Heritage Foods and activities of a Trust set up in memory of her father NT Ramarao, she seldom made public appearances. However, with the chances of Naidu getting bail receding and the possibility of the arrest of his son Nara Lokesh looming, the TDP boss has no option but to launch his wife into politics.

Compelled by the circumstances, she has embarked on a yatra with the theme Nijam Gelavali (Truth should Triumph) from October 25 to garner support for her husband Chandrababu Naidu who has been lodged in Rajahmundry Central Jail for the last 46 days. Her yatra is meant to console the families of those who died of shock following Naidu’s arrest. She made her maiden political speech before a gathering, mostly comprising women, at Agarala village in Chandragiri Assembly constituency on Wednesday.

Her simple appearance and passionate speech devoid of hostile reference to Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy was well received. She confined herself to narrating how Naidu was arrested, how the TDP president used to think of the people day in and day out, and how he transformed Hyderabad into a global city that created jobs for lakhs of youth.

She was emphatic that the arrest of her husband was a conspiracy to destroy TDP before the elections. “They think that arrest would weaken his moral strength and make the party headless. This won’t happen. He will come out and lead the party to victory,” she said in the meeting likening her campaign to the freedom struggle inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. In every meeting, she called upon the people to join her “struggle for freedom” in Andhra Pradesh.

Not new in Andhra

A woman leading a political campaign when the family head was arrested in alleged corruption cases is not new in Andhra Pradesh. When YS Jaganmohan Reddy was arrested in May 2012 by the CBI in a disproportionate assets case, the responsibility of keeping the party afloat fell on his mother Vijayamma and sister Sharmila. They both continued the Odarpu (consolation) Yatra meant to meet the families of fans who died in shock on hearing the news of the death of YSR in a helicopter crash in 2009. The yatra originally launched by Jagan came to an abrupt halt with his arrest.

Sharmila, then 34, though new to politics transformed the yatra into a campaign against Sonia Gandhi, alleging that she was responsible for Jagan’s arrest. Sharmila and Vijayamma had deftly played the victim card to draw sympathy for the beleaguered Jagan. They succeeded in keeping the morale of the cadres high by provoking them with a refrain that “Sonia can get Jagananna arrested, but she cannot arrest your love for Jagananna.” Their efforts, though could not lead the party to victory in 2014, were seen as largely responsible for keeping the party intact.

What is being witnessed in Andhra Pradesh now appears to be the replay of the same victim card by Bhuvaneswari. After witnessing her yatra, a party spokesperson said given the response from the public, a bigger role for her in the party is not ruled out, if Naidu did not get bail till December and Lokesh were to be arrested.

“As a woman, she will be more acceptable than anybody as the leader. Her simple appeal to the public is garnering sympathy for 73-year-old Naidu,” he said on condition of anonymity. In his view, the launch of her yatra from Chandragiri constituency is not without any significance. “It was from this constituency that Naidu was first elected to the assembly in 1978 as a Congress candidate. In 1994, Naidu’s brother, Nara Rammurthy Naidu, won from the constituency as a TDP member. Naidu might be thinking of fielding her from Chandragiri in the 2024 Assembly elections,” he said.

Rivals take potshots

Her yatra, like Rabri Devi’s early days as the chief minister, is drawing sneers from the ruling YSR Congress, triggering a fierce war of words between the two parties. Mocking Bhuvaneswari, Andhra Minister Ambati Rambabu said, “As a Hindu wife, she is well within her right to defend her husband however corrupt he is, but people are aware of what the truth is. If the truth prevails Naidu will be in deep trouble.”

The minister’s assertion drew a sharp counter from the TDP. “The truth about Jagan is how he drove his sister Sharmila and mother Vijayamma out of the state even though they struggled to keep the party afloat when he was in jail for 16 months,” said senior TDP leader Buddha Venkanna.

Meanwhile, noted psychologist Dr Pratyusha Subbarao pointed out some drawbacks of Bhuvaneswari’s campaign. “To succeed in her mission Bhuvaneswari needs a firm ideological stand like that of Rabri,” he said. “Though illiterate, Rabri Devi’s strength lay in her party’s firm opposition to the BJP. Continuously harping on your husband’s arrest takes you nowhere. Once YSRCP intensifies its attack, it is bound to subside. So, Bhuvaneswari should first evolve a political line and mobilise public opinion for it,” Dr Subbarao said.