Will NTR Junior Lay Claim To His Grandfather’s Legacy In AP?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. For those seeking evidence, travel to Andhra Pradesh where a war of words has broken out over the use of a picture in political hoardings.

The picture at the centre of the dispute is that of the late Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. The political theatre in the state is hotting up because the photograph of the former chief minister has been used by YSR Congress leaders in their publicity material, with NTR sharing space with the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy. While they were alive, NTR and YSR were in opposite camps and political rivals.

It is not just NTR’s pictures that are being used. Photographs of actor NTR Junior (NTR’s grandson and Telugu Desam MP Nandamuri Harikrishna’s son) have also been used in the same hoarding along with Jaganmohan Reddy. The person who brought about this jugalbandi was film producer-cum-MLA Kodali Nani, a close confidant of NTR Junior, who has now crossed over from the TDP to the Reddy camp. Incidentally, it was after NTR Junior’s recommendation that Nani got the TDP ticket in the 2009 assembly elections.
The Telugu Desam, the party NTR founded in 1982, is seething over their late leader being hijacked by the YSR family. Giving voice to this resentment is NTR’s actor son, Nandamuri Balakrishna, who asked NTR Junior to clarify if he had approved of the decision to share hoarding space with Jagan, the TDP’s political rival. Balakrishna also warned anyone else from using his father’s photograph, saying NTR belonged to the TDP and the Nandamuri family. While he asked NTR Junior to be prepared to face the consequences if he did not condemn the use of the photograph, other TDP leaders went one step further and said the use of NTR’s photograph amounted to “political prostitution”.

Harikrishna retorted anyone could use NTR’s photograph and that NTR Junior was not responsible if his photograph was used by others.

Trust Andhra Pradesh’s first family to churn out a masala potboiler, though it is hardly surprising given almost every member of the Nandamuri family has their fingers in films, politics or both.  However, the present churn has its origins in a political-cum-Tollywood clash that is taking place within the Nandamuri family.

* NTR Junior is seen as a claimant to the NTR legacy, that was usurped by Chandrababu Naidu in a palace coup in August 1995. Given how NTR was thrown out of the party he founded by the people he gave a political life to, it seems strange that the same Naidu-Balakrishna combine now lays claim to NTR’s legacy. The thespian spent a lonely four months after he was left out in the cold and when his end came in January 1996, most believed he never recovered from the shock of being betrayed by his sons and son-in-law.

* NTR Junior is seen as a threat to the political career of Nara Lokesh, who is Naidu’s son, as well as Balakrishna’s son-in-law. The fear is that if the TDP does not come to power in 2014, Naidu could be dumped as a liability. NTR Junior, a hugely popular Telugu hero, who has the added advantage of sharing NTR’s name and resembles his charismatic grandfather, could then claim Naidu’s position in the TDP. A full-blown war within the Nandamuri family cannot be ruled out and the present skirmish is seen as an indication of things to come.

* The use of NTR Jr’s photographs in YSR Congress posters coincided with the release of his latest film Baadshah, merging the film’s promotional material with political positioning. Also there are doubts if NTR Jr had the backing of TDP cadre to ensure the success of Baadshah, leaving many to wonder if he was being shrewd in indirectly courting the YSRC cadre.

* Balakrishna wants to launch his son Mokshagna Teja in films soon and wouldn’t want any competition against him, especially from within the family.

* So far Harikrishna was the only NTR son who had a place in the TDP senior leadership. But lately, he has found himself sidelined, with younger brother Balakrishna’s profile improving within the party hierarchy. What is taking place is also shadow boxing between brothers, with brother-in-law Chandrababu Naidu keeping mum.

Naidu and Balakrishna realise that some disgruntled TDP leaders could cross over to YSR Congress closer to elections and they will not be able to do anything to prevent them from using NTR’s photograph in campaign material. Incidentally NTR’s widow Lakshmi Parvati, who has as much claim to NTR’s photograph as his sons and grandsons, is allied with Jagan now. And NTR’s daughter, Union minister of state D Purandareswari, who is with the Congress also highlights her connection with NTR, emphasising that NTR belongs to all his admirers.

Interestingly, YSR himself was a huge fan of NTR, the actor. Travelling with YSR during the 2009 election campaign, when I asked him what he thought of actor Chiranjeevi he said he was not a patch on NTR, who he rated as a very fine performer. And when YSR launched the Rs 2/kg rice scheme, he gave credit to NTR who had thought of it in the first place in Andhra Pradesh in the 1980s.

For now, the storm in the TDP cup seems to have blown over with NTR Junior clarifying he will continue to support the TDP. But you never know, this might well be just the intermission before the next round.