In the game of survival at the top of the party hierarchy, there are few who are as crafty as Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu. The TD chief, after toppling his father-in-law from the helm, is now propping brother-in-law Nandamuri Balakrishna to checkmate the temperamental Nandamuri Harikrishna and the young Jr NTR, thereby retaining his hold on the party affairs.

If TD circles are to be believed, Balakrishna's sudden upsurge in party affairs may have taken everyone by surprise but only senior leaders are able to see through the game plan. "We feel Balakrishna is being propped up to check Jr NTR, who is of late playing hide and seek with Mr Naidu. After the Studio N episode, in which Jr NTR shunted out Lokesh and took charge of the TV channel, the relationship has soured further," a senior TD leader told this correspondent.

He added, "Balakrishna is a safe bet for Mr Naidu and he can control him compared to Jr NTR. Balakrishna can never be a threat to Mr Naidu's legacy or a hindrance to Lokesh taking over the reins of the party in future. Besides, Mr Naidu can boast that a top member of the NTR clan is on his side, till he decides to hand over the mantle to his chosen one." Balakrishna created quite a 'hulchal' in Krishna district during the unveiling of NTR's statue and has been regularly attending to other TD programmes of late.

The bond between Mr Naidu and Balakrishna had strengthened after the TD chief's son Lokesh married Balakrishna's daughter Brahmani. The TD chief is also the brother-in-law of Balakrishna, having married his sister. Though some party leaders feel that Balakrishna should take over reins of party before the next polls since the party lost two elections under Mr Naidu and cannot risk losing the third in 2014, the TD chief is in no mood to give up. Other leaders however see nothing out of the ordinary. "Balakrishna is an active member of the TD. There is no need to be surprised about his statement," a senior leader said.