Ambitious former IPS officer V V Lakshminarayana (VVL), who had joined the political bandwagon of the State, is seen treading cautiously after his debut. He had earned popularity in the State, particularly among the students, when he handled the cases like Satyam Ramalinga Raju and Jaganmohan Reddy, during his stint as joint director of the CBI. He became a celebrity and a symbol of honesty. He was invited by most of the colleges in the State to address their students and there was more publicity to him than he desired.

Riding on the positive image that he had earned in the State, Lakshminarayana had quit his IPS job and joined the politics. He started his political career in Guntur district addressing the farmers and later moved on to the general public. His interaction in Srikakulam district and later in Nellore and now in Vizianagaram are being planned with a lot of care. Though there are strong rumours that he has his links with the RSS and thus will be joining the BJP soon, he is keeping his cards close to his chest, giving no hints for the people to guess.

Lakshminarayana is interacting with the cross section of people. The farmers, students, youth and the members of the clubs like rotary and lions that have various professionals, are his select audiences as of now. In a way, he is cautiously testing his luck before laying his hand for political stakes. Filling an auditorium of a college, where the audiences are captive, is different from filling a venue, where the audiences are to be volunteers. He finds this difference now as the chairs are empty and the gathering runs into just a few dozens.

It is clear that the farmer IPS officer wants to be a Minister and that too holding Agriculture portfolio. But, it is not easy for him to fulfil his dream if he is alone and fails to align with any party. It is here he is trying to be judicious and is making his moves carefully. It might take a few more months for him to make up his mind and people would have to wait for that day.