Fate turns a full circle

DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: The far-off Srikakulam district seems to spell a sort of doom for the Telugu Desam Party -- to its presidents rather.
About 13 years ago, in August 1995, the then chief of TDP N T Rama Rao saw his fortunes dip when he was touring Srikakulam district. As the then Chief Minister Rama Rao was touring Srikakulam when the so-called "August crisis" in the party began under the leadership of N Chandrababu Naidu, the then general secretary of the party and minister for revenue. As NTR crossed the supposedly ominous Gotta Barrage and set foot in neighbouring Vizianagaram district as part of his 'Prajala Vaddaku Paalana' programme, Chandrababu and Co. camped in hotel Nagavali in Srikakulam to hatch a conspiracy to dethrone the former.
And, the rest is history.
Now, fate seemed to have turned a full circle for Naidu, who ironically was camping in Srikakulam -- and moving in the vicinity of Gotta Barrage -- when his virtual second-in-command T Devender Goud chose to desert him on Monday. On the face of it, nothing appears to be similar in the two instances, for, the TDP is not headed for a split now as it happened in 1995. Moreover, Goud has only one accomplice in E Peddi Reddy. Nevertheless, as far as the TDP is concerned, the exit of Goud is a significant blow. Whether Goud's departure would ultimately result in the TDP's debacle in Telangana is, however, debatable.