Balayya may opt out of contest - TeluguPeople.com News

Hyderabad : Film actor and Telugu Desam Party leader Nandamuri Balakrishna is unlikely to contest the elections this time.

Balakrishna said that he had no plans whatsoever to contest in the ensuing general elections either for the Assembly or Parliament. He, however, said he would abide by the decision of the party high command on contesting elections.

The announcement of the ace film actor, which he made while addressing media persons in Karimnagar, shocked many party leaders as it came at a time when the political circles in the State were abuzz with the reports of his imminent plunge into politics.

The actor himself, on a number of occasions, declared that he was going to contest in the upcoming polls at any cost. He also said on numerous occasions that his political plunge would be either from Gudiwada Assembly constituency or Hindupur MP seat, as he had a special place for both the seats in his heart.

But the sudden change of mind by the scion of Nandamuri family came as a surprise for many senior leaders of the party including his fans.They wonder whether the statement is an indication that TDP president Nara Chandrababu Naidu did not want to have any threat from his own family members to his supremacy in the party.

Many die-hard fans and supporters of NTR family feel that Naidu was behind the statement made by Balakrishna as he did not want to have an alternative power centre within the party.

They recall how Naidu had successfully thwarted the attempts of other family members of NTR family like Nandamuri Hari Krishna, the elder brother of Balakrishna, to grow into independent leaders.

'Hari Krishna wanted to take over the party after the death of our party founder NTR. His attempts were thwarted by Naidu and he was shown the door in an unceremonious manner by the party leadership.

Though he returned to party fold after making futile attempts to run Anna Telugu Desam Party, Hari Krishna never enjoyed the status what he had before in the party.

His son and film actor Junior NTR was snubbed by the party president on many an occasion,' a senior party leader said.The leader doubted that Naidu might have scuttled the ambitious plans of Balakrishna keeping the same threat perception in mind.

'Balakrishna is more popular than Harikrishna in the state. He also commands a lot of respect in the party and in the public as well. Naidu might have felt that the actor would emerge into the second center of power in the party sidelining him and convinced him to stay out of politics for the next couple of years,' he said.

Another party leader, while recalling the trail of similar incidents that took place in the past, said that NTR's elder daughter Daggubati Purandeswari could not join the party despite her strong attempts and remained an outsider.

'Purandeswari wanted to serve in the party founder by her father. At no point, she was allowed into the party. The reason was very simple for everybody to understand-the possible threat to the position of Naidu in the party,' the leader noted.