Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is an expert in cashing in on human emotions and once his purpose is solved, he doesn’t hesitate to throw all these emotions to winds.
This was the observation made by Gannavaram MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi, who defected from the TDP to YSR Congress party after the 2019 assembly elections in the state.
In an interview to a news channel, Vamsi said Naidu had used this emotional quotient in using the services of Junior NTR during 2009 elections and later dropping him like a hot potato.
Vamsi recalled how Naidu defended himself in pulling down his father-in-law N T Rama Rao from power in August 1995, saying he had to take the decision to protect the party from Lakshmi Parvathi.
He successfully cashed in on the emotions of NTR’s sons and daughters to usurp the power from NTR.
“If what Naidu said is correct, then all those who helped him should be with him even now. Why have they distanced himself from him later? Daggubati went back to Lakshmi Parvathi group and finally got sidelined in politics. Purandeshwari had to join the BJP. Harikrishna floated a separate party and later was forced to come back to the TDP but was not given any power or position, which he deserved,” Vamsi said.
He said even Nandamuri Balakrishna, till he got his daughter married to Naidu’s son Lokesh, was keeping away from Naidu.
“All these people had conspired against NTR and vowed to make TDP an international party. But where have they disappeared?” he asked.
Vamsi said even with regard to Junior NTR, Naidu used this emotional quotient to regain the glory in 2009.
“Those days, Jr NTR was very young, but was as popular as Chiranjeevi. In order to take advantage of his popularity in the elections, Naidu used him in the campaign,” he said.
But when the TDP failed to come to power, Naidu got negative reports written about Jr NTR in his pro-TDP media.
“These newspapers have written articles that wherever Jr NTR campaigned, the TDP had lost. This was deliberately done to prove that Jr NTR is unfit for politics,” he said.
During the 2014 elections, Naidu kept Jr NTR at bay and did not even consult him while forging alliance with the BJP.
“While giving the party ticket to me from Gannavaram, Naidu requested me not to speak to Jr NTR, as he had some problems with the actor,” he explained.