A senior leader in the opposition TDP has categorically rejected the idea of Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna assuming leadership within the party.
Balakrishna had taken a seat in the party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu's chair both in the party office at Mangalagiri and in the Assembly.
He also held a media conference, promising the people that he would stand by them in times of crisis.
In reference to all these actions, the TDP senior leader informed Chandrababu Naidu during his imprisonment in Rajamahendravaram jail that Balakrishna's leadership would be a burden to the party.
He conveyed to Naidu that party leaders were unwilling to accept Balakrishna's leadership, and furthermore, it would make it easier for Jagan Mohan Reddy to defeat the party.
The same leader had stood by Chandrababu Naidu during the crisis in August 1995 and prevented late N. T. Rama Rao from speaking in the Assembly.
This leader, hailing from the BC Yadava community, had held the No. 2 position in the party for all these years.
While he is also not accepted as the alternative leader for the TDP, he did not allow Naidu to designate Balakrishna as the alternative leader.
For this reason, the TDP appointed a 14-member political action committee to oversee the party's activities in the absence of Chandrababu Naidu.
Interestingly, the name of party general secretary Nara Lokesh appears at the end of the list among the 14 names!