If all goes well and exactly as he planned, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu would emerge smiling wide between his ears from the marriage of Jr NTR and Pranathi in May.

Naidu’s smile has its own brand value and purpose. It is perhaps the rarest of expressions one can see on his face and only when things work his way. Naidu’s latest match-making act, the second in recent times, was a big surprise for many who saw him from close quarters: He is not the ideal fit to be a good Samaritan or at least an indulgent friendly neighbourhood man.

Then what made him go the extra mile, travelling all the way to Singapore with the parents of Jr NTR and Pranathi, and convince them for the marriage?

According to party insiders and regulars at Naidu’s Jubilee Hills residence, getting a young and promising Jr NTR firmly into his fold is part of his well-thought-out strategy for the future and precisely for the Andhra region in the event of the state’s bifurcation.

A wily and shrewd politician that he is, Naidu is not the one to leave things to fate and destiny and allow others to take advantage of political uncertainties. His first battle is to keep the state in tact and yet he wants the TDP to survive the present political storm. This is exactly why he is lying low on the issue of Telangana with the idea that Congress would take the blame for anything that happens now.

At the same time, he doesn’t want to be seen lagging behind in preparations for a separate Andhra, like how Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi is going about things. Chiranjeevi, under pressure from his partymen, sided with Samaikhyandhra to better his chances in a future Andhra state. He lost the game completely in Telangana but it at least gives him the hope and scope to focus on the two regions where he enjoys huge fan following.

This is why Naidu wants a potent weapon to counter the Chiru charisma in Andhra. He sees huge promise in Jr NTR and the young gun’s style of campaigning during the last elections had already impressed the TDP chief. He feels, along with Balakrishna, Jr NTR would fortify the TDP star power for a complete stranglehold on this politically enlightened region.

Around the same time, Jr NTR suddenly became a hot commodity for some big names who think he would be their ideal ‘alludu’. Along with the owners of two Telugu news channels, several big industrialists are interested to give him their daughters in marriage.

This is where Naidu sensed the danger and immediately played the match-maker so that Jr NTR is safely in his basket. Nevertheless, it works out best for both; Naidu can hope to use NTR to prolong his political existence and the Junior can see himself inching closer to play a significant future role in TDP