Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday made his maiden trip to Anantapur to attend the wedding of AP minister Paritala Sunita’s son Sriram at Venkatapuram.
He had hinted that he would travel to Rayalaseema while accepting the wedding invitation from Ms Sunita a few days ago.
Mr Rao was incharge minister for Anantapur district while he was part of the TD government in undivided Andhra Pradesh between 1995 and 1999 before he quit to start the Telangana Rashtra Samiti. He had developed a good rapport with Paritala Ravi, who was assassinated on January 24, 2005.
Mr Rao appears to have worked out that he could get support from sections of the powerful Kamma community in both Hyderabad and parts of Telangana state with the visit.
Mr Rao received huge applause from thousands of people who had gathered at the wedding soon after he reached the venue in the afternoon.
AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu who had attended the wedding waited for almost half an hour to greet his Telangana state counterpart. When it appeared that it would take more time for Mr Rao to arrive, Mr Naidu went towards the exit to leave.
Mr Rao arrived at that moment and greeted Mr Naidu. He told Mr Naidu that he would visit Amaravati to meet him and discuss pending issues.
After blessings the newly-weds, Mr Rao offered prayers at the memorial built for the late Paritala Ravi. He was greeted by the crowds everywhere.
After spending half-an-hour at the memorial, Mr Rao took a special bus to reach the helipad at the outskirts of Venkatapuram. He spotted senior TD legislator Payyavula Kesav and asked him to accompany him to the bus.
Even at the helipad, Mr Rao took Mr Kesav to a side and spoke with him for seven minutes before leaving from the Puttaparthi airport from where he took an aircraft back home. Sources said Mr Rao spoke with Mr Kesav about the political situation in AP, more particularly in Rayalaseema.
