When the Congress high command wanted to rein in the “make Jagan CM” chorus, they sent a strong message to the person who could control it — K V P Ramachandra Rao.

The Rajya Sabha MP who is the brain behind orchestrating the pro-Jaganmohan sloganeering but later relented under pressure from the high command, is well-known for various reasons. He has been a close friend of former chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy since their medical college days in Gulbarga where he was YSR’s junior. Though YSR completed his MBBS from Gulbarga, KVP shifted to Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada.

After their return to Andhra, the two buddies kept in touch; YSR joined as a house surgeon at the Tirupati Medical College while KVP was still studying. It was in 1978, when YSR was first elected MLA, that he invited KVP to join him in Hyderabad and start working here.

Since then, they have been like each other’s shadow. “He became the eyes and ears of YSR who was slowly rising to prominence in the party. With a sharp brain that could analyse various political situations to YSR’s advantage, he became a de facto advisor to YSR. He is neither a politician nor a leader. His politics is just that he was YSR’s friend but he provided the power to YSR by advising him on various issues. You can say that KVP was the reason for YSR not making too many mistakes in his political life,” says veteran political analyst I M Venkat Rao.

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