![]() A former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Rao was all but done with his political career after the ascent of Rajiv Gandhi to the top job, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. It traces the rise of Rao-besides all the humiliations that befall politicians and salacious bits about his female companions-through the ranks of a party which increasingly favoured palace intrigue. It reveals to us someone whom Ramesh very famously described in his book as a man with “the charisma of a dead fish". It is a critical assessment of his contribution, which on occasion tends to be overly appreciative. The entire episode exposes a reader to the scary inside travails of India’s oldest political party-something we rarely get to know about. ![]() Eventually, the leadership prevailed and Rao was cremated in Hyderabad. The Congress leadership, by then at extreme odds with Rao, was keen to ensure that he was not cremated in Delhi, just as his family was adamant he should be. ![]() Unsurprisingly, perhaps because Sitapati is a former journalist, the book begins rather dramatically, tracing the sordid political drama after Rao’s death. ![]()
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