Belligerent on screen, Balayya sheepish on home turf

Hindupur (Anantapur): NBK or Balayya, as Nandamuri Balakrishna is popularly known in the film circles, may have effortlessly birched a gang of several sturdy ruffians as an action hero in his films, but the reel life is quite different from real life and that is what he appears to have realized in his Hindupur constituency, plagued with intra-party squabbles.

He came to grips with this bitter reality after witnessing a showdown between the rival factions during his latest visit on Thursday.

The seemingly endless group-rivalries within his party in Hindupur robbed him of peace soon after his election as an MLA. Involved neck-deep in film shooting, Balayya is said to have heavily depended on his PAs to run the show in the backward constituency in Anantapur district. Consequently, he is alleged to be a rare visitor to his constituency, making 3-4 trips in a year.

Even as the controversy surrounding his earlier PA Sekhar Naidu is yet to slip out of public view, a fresh trouble is brewing in the local party centering around his present PA Veeraiah. A ginger group in the party saw Sekhar out of the constituency, forcing Balayya to appoint Veeraiah as the next PA. Yet, peace continues to elude him. Insiders said Balayya’s heavy dependence on his personal assistants on political matters breeds faction politics in the party.

The lack of unity in the party haunts Balayya even as he is expected to take a plunge in 2019 general elections, hardly two years away, seeking re-election. The party is vertically split with one group supporting the PA and the other opposing him. It happened during the period of Sekhar and is repeating now also with the latest PA at the centre of controversy.

The infighting in the party obviously casts a shadow over Balayya’s performance as a local MLA and on the constituency development. As he is preoccupied with restoring peace in the party after his film shooting, his promise to find a remedy for the nagging drinking water problem in the town by bringing Hundri-Neeva water through the Gollapalle reservoir is yet to become a reality.

He said he would strive to let it become a reality by August 2017. The town is also craving for industrial growth with the hope that its proximity to international airport in Bangalore will help attract industries and provide employment to the local youth.

The voices of dissent and disharmony stared at Balayya in the face during his latest three-day visit which concluded on Wednesday. He devoted one full-day on the last leg of his visit to broker peace in the party apparatus by bringing the warring groups to the negotiating tables. He even let the leaders of rival groups shake hands as a sign of patch up.

It is yet to be seen whether this arrangement will help him find a lasting remedy for the problem. For over 40 years, Hindupur has been under the control of Telugu Desam. Telugu Desam Party had been winning the assembly seat in 1985, 1989, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2009 and in 2014. NTR thrice represented the segment in 1985,1989 and 1994. He was followed by Hari Krishna in1996 and Balayya now.

By Ravi P Benjamin