Vijayawada: Telugu Desam in Hindupur is considering making Lokesh contest in 2019 general elections. At present Nandamuri Balakrishna is the MLA from Hindupur constituency in which TD had its stronghold.
According to sources, TD is thinking of placing Balakrishna either in the Rajya Sabha or in an alternative position to make Hindupur vacant for Lokesh. A senior TD leader said, there are high chances of Lokesh contesting from Hindupur, and also the districts of Krishna, Guntur and Chittoor .
The recent incident in which MLA Balakrishna slapped his fan raised the issue for discussions that Balakrishna will not be considered for contesting from Hindupur in the coming 2019 general elections. It may be recalled that Mr Balakrishna had behaved aggressively many times with party workers during his previous visits to Hindupur and other parts of the state, and had slapped some of them.
Though Balakrishna claims it was issue between him and his fans, and the incidents happened not out of rage but a spontaneous reaction to unpleasant situations. The incident of October 3, where Balakrishna had slapped Mr B. Maruthi, a diehard fan of Balakrishna and also a TD activist, with high volatage aggression has become a topic for discussion in the constituency as well.
These sequential incidents are embarrassing TD. Balakrishna’s attitude is being condemned severely by the citizens, along with his diehard fans. They are even suggest keeping Balakrishna far from programmes that involves the public.
Hindupur constituency has been a bastion for TD since its formation. TD founder late Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao was elected from Hindupur four times consecutively in 1985, 1989, 1994, and 1996. Even in 1999 and 2004 and 2009, TD candidates G. C. Venkata Ramudu, Pamisetti Ranganaya-kulu, and P. Adbul Ghani were elected from Hindupur as MLAs. In 2014 Balakrishna won with around 16,000 majority.
