P Muralidhar Rao, BJP national general secretary and the person who has been assigned the task of looking at the assembly election in Rajasthan by the party, has a history that it not just interesting but is also linked to the poll-bound state. Rao was at one time living incognito in the state as he was facing a Naxalite threat. He had strategically been moved out of Hyderabad and shifted to Rajasthan to work with the ABVP in Jodhpur and for some time in Jaipur.
Rao was in Rajasthan from July 1987 to February 1990 and went by the name of KK (Krishna Kant). He lived in ABVP offices, kept a low profile and used the time to expand the organisation base of Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — the student wing of the BJP.
"He was here for close to three years when I was with ABVP. We, however, knew him as KK. He was an amazing organisation man and a brilliant strategist. When I won the post of university president back in 1989, it was because of his planning. He left the state soon after the Lok Sabha elections. It was many years later that I came to know that his real name is P Murlidhar Rao," said Jalam Singh Rawlot, former BJP MLA.
Speaking to DNA P Murlidhar Rao confirmed that he had lived in Jodhpur and Jaipur, "Yes, I had lived in Rajasthan as KK. I was a student leader in Hyderabad and was on the target list of Naxalites so I had to move out. I had to function with an assumed name and it was KK — Krishna Kant. I worked with the ABVP in Rajasthan back then, and have been coming to the state every year since then."
While his identity had to be kept secret for his safety, some party members knew the truth about him in a bid to keep him safe. "I was also associated with ABVP then. A few of us were aware that KK was an assumed name of P Muralidhar Rao, a dynamic student leader from Hyderabad. We were also aware of the threats he faced. While we interacted with him regularly, this was one subject that was never mentioned; all for his safety," recalled an RSS functionary speaking to DNA.
"I remember he was also very careful about maintaining his cover. One can hardly find a picture of him from that time," added another ABVP senior.
Incidentally there were three elections during the period in which Rao alias KK was in Rajasthan — Rajasthan University elections, Jodhpur University elections and Lok Sabha elections. And the BJP got favourable results in all three. The party also went on to form a government in Rajasthan in March 1990.
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