Former Union minister and senior Telugu Desam Party leader P Ashok Gajapathi Raju had been an undisputed king in Vizianagaram all these years, irrespective of whether the TDP was in power or not.
Being the son of Vizianagaram raja P V G Raju, Ashok has been leading various trusts and properties owned by his family. After the death of his brother Ananda Gajapathi Raju, he has been the honourary chairman of various trusts floated by his father.
But Ashok has been losing all his glory after the YSR Congress party government came to power last year.
He has been stripped of the post of honourary chairman of Simhachalam Devasthanams Trust Board, which he had been enjoying by virtue of being the son of late P V G Raju.
In his place, the YSRC government appointed Ashok’s niece Sanchaita Gajapathi Raju as the chairperson of Simhachalam Trust Board. Sanchaita, daughter of Ananda Gajapathi Raju, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party a couple of years ago. She is now executive member of the BJP at the national level.
A qualified lawyer by profession with a media background, Sanchaita is now putting her knowledge to work for the less fortunate by founding an NGO named Social Awareness Newer Alternatives (SANA) which would help extend new technologies to improve clean drinking water supply and sanitation in the villages in coastal Andhra districts of East Godavari and Visakhapatnam.
And in the latest development, Ashok was also removed from the post of honorary chairman of Maharajah Alak Narayan Society of Arts and Science (MANSAS) which is an educational trust founded by his father.
It is a charitable trust under Endowments department, which runs 12 educational institutions, including a medical college and Raju’s family donated more than 13,000 acres spread over four districts to this trust.
Now, this post has also been given to Sanchaita. While her appointment is being viewed as a symbol of friendly relations between YSRC and BJP, Sanchaita has also been maintaining good relations with Jagan government.
She recently extended her support to the three-capitals formula of Jagan, in contrary to the opinion of Ashok Gajapathi Raju.
