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ELECTIONS '96

Constituency Profile/Secunderabad

The son may set in Secunderabad

Chi Sushil Rao in Hyderabad

Eighteen months is all it takes to turn your greatest asset into your deadliest liability.

Ask P V Rajeshwara Rao, he'll tell you. The Congress candidate for the Secunderabad Lok Sabha seat, in Andhra Pradesh, coasted through the last time round on the strength of being the son of then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao. In fact, his was the largest winning margin in the state.

Today, that same pedigree turns into a millstone, with his papa marginalised, denied a party ticket, and held responsible for the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

So who said the sins of the fathers shall not be visited upon their children?

"He lives in an ivory tower," is the assessment of Rajeshwara Rao's own party colleagues.

The underlying problem seems to be that last time round, no one eyed the Secunderabad seat, knowing that Rao had already put up his marker on it. This time round, several state-level stalwarts made a bid for the seat, and having lost out, have now injected that element of disaffection into the party's cadres.

Another reason for the lukewarm campaign is the perception that Rao is not exactly high up on party chief Sitaram Kesri's list of favoured candidates. Kesri in fact signalled his displeasure when, on a visit to Hyderabad a couple of months back, he contemptuously ordered Rao to vacate the chair next to his own.

"It is not correct to say that my partymen are not with me," says Rao, putting a brave face on the scenario. "When I went to file my nomination, all the city MLAs were beside me and they all extended their sincere support."

So why the negative vibes? "My rivals are spreading all those stories, about how my party is not with me, how I am not approachable to the voters, things like that."

Judging by the evidence of one's eyes, though, there is a barrier between the candidate and the voter -- namely the personnel of the Special Protection Group, which has thrown a strict cordon around the former PM's son. And this is what his political rivals are grousing about.

"Lots of VIPs in this country have more security than I do, and no one says they are unapproachable," counters Rao. "Besides, my security should not be held against me, I didn't ask for it, I would rather move around freely but it is compulsory."

The situation is tailormade for the BJP, which is hoping to cash in on the general disaffection for the Congress candidate. Contesting on the 'lotus' symbol is state BJP president Bandaru Dattatreya. "Rao has done nothing for the people, his defeat is a foregone conclusion," says he.

It was Dattatreya in fact who, in 1991, wrested what had, until then, been an unquestioned bastion of the Congress. However, the next time round he lost to Rao, then at the height of his, or rather, his prime minister father's, glory.

Not that Secunderabad is a two horse race -- far from it, given the presence of Dr Alladi Raj Kumar of the Telugu Desam Party. "Rao won last time because he was the prime minister's son, and people hoped some benefits would accrue from that connection. Now they are disappointed. As for the BJP, the same applies, Dattatreya did not do anything during his tenure. The TDP under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is the only party that has done something for the area, and that is why I am confident of winning," says Raj Kumar, who has his name on a seat in the Rajya Sabha at present.

Rajeshwara Rao, meanwhile, is forced to fall back on that latest refuge of the Congressman -- Sonia Gandhi, who addressed a hugely attended rally in the constituency recently.

"Sonia Gandhi has made an impact on the people," he says. "I will win because of her."

And what of his father and former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao?

"I did not ask him to campaign for me," is the cryptic response.

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