Balayya Likely To Make Hat-Trick!

Infighting in the ruling YSR Congress party is likely to benefit Hindpur MLA and actor Nandamuri Balakrishna in 2024 general elections too, helping him to go for a hat-trick.

As many as 18 councillors have raised their voice against YCP MLC Shaik Mohammed Iqbal, who has been appointed as the party in-charge. At a meeting held in Press Club at Hindupur yesterday, councelors protesting against the demeanour of the MLC shouted ‘Iqbal down down’ slogans.

It is learnt that Iqbal has called for a meeting of the councilors, both his supporters and detractors, and would address them in the next few hours.

Recently, Iqbal’s detractors even reached Tadepalli and apprised government political advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy about the existing situation in the constituency. They told Sajjala that Iqbal was maintaining his own unofficial PAs and neglecting the party functionaries who were working with dedication.

They made it clear to the party senior leaders that they want a local leader to be appointed as the party in-charge but not a non-local like Iqbal.

Not just the YCP leaders even the public are vexed with the misdemeanor of the MLC. The YCP cadre is dissatisfied with the special coterie the MLC maintains around him.

The dissent against the MLC is likely to prove advantageous to Hindupur MLA Balakrishna in the next general elections. His demand for elevation of the constituency as a district with Hindupur as the district headquarters and efforts to provide drinking water to the people from the Handri-Neeva project had made people happy. Further, he also ensured that the Lepakshi Utsavalu at Lepakshi were organised in a grand manner. Though there is talk that Balakrishna is not available to the electorate in the constituency, he had always seen to it that a large amount of funds was granted to his constituency, being a close relative to the TDP supremo N. Chandrababu Naidu, when it formed the government.

In 2014, Balakrishna got elected as an MLA from Hindupur for the first time and retained the seat in 2019 polls. If he can retain the seat in 2024 too, Balayya can boast of a hat-trick.

Hindupur has always remained TDP’s forte since the 1980s. TDP founder and former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao represented the constituency at one time. Since then, the voters have remained staunch loyalists of the TDP.