N.T.Rama Rao on the legendary Chaitanya Ratham, his 1940 model Chevrolet van customised for election campaigning. | Photo Credit: File Photo
Twenty-eight years since his passing, N.T. Rama Rao just can’t be pushed out of people’s memory, particularly during election time, when political leaders invoke him to tug at his supporters’ heartstrings.
Despite the State division and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founded by him losing its political relevance in Telangana, the former chief minister’s impact and influence is hard to forget, more so in Khammam district bordering Andhra Pradesh where his community has a strong say.
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Both the ruling Congress and Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) are leaving no stone unturned to impress TDP voters and die-hard fans of NTR. The Kamma community to which he belonged is an influential one in the Khammam district that shares border with the erstwhile East Godavari district of A.P. It’s a different matter, although, that NTR can’t be confined to one community.
While BRS candidate and sitting MP Nama Nageshwar Rao belongs to the same community, he faces a strong challenge from Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy, son of yesteryears Congress stalwart Ramasahayam Surender Reddy, a four-time MP and also MLA multiple times from Mahabubabad and the adjoining Khammam district.
Since the community is known to be united apart from being influential in economic and political fields, both candidates are wooing them by praising NTR. Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageshwar Rao is a disciple of NTR and the first move that he made after joining the Congress before the elections was to visit the TDP office to garland NTR’s statue and recall his services to the combined Andhra Pradesh.
In his recent public meeting in Khammam, BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who is also a disciple of NTR, described him as a legendary figure with compassion for the downtrodden. He recalled how NTR’s path-breaking ₹2-a-kg rice scheme changed the living standards of the people.
Revenue Minister and Khammam strongman Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy leaves no opportunity to praise NTR in his meetings and has even demanded that NTR be honoured with the Bharat Ratna, an award which he richly deserves.
Both candidates are aware of the NTR and the TDP factors in the Khammam district and rarely does one have the political gumption to criticise NTR. The Congress has found a new route to the TDP and Kamma vote as its candidate Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy is related to that community.
His elder son, Vinayak Reddy, is married to Aashritha, daughter of film star Daggubati Venkatesh, whose late father and film producer D. Rama Naidu was close to NTR and also worked as Parliament member of the TDP. While Aashritha is campaigning in Khammam for her father-in-law, Mr. Venkatesh too is likely to join the campaign. Mr. Srinivas Reddy is also related to Mr. Raghuram Reddy with his younger son marrying the former’s daughter.
Interestingly, even the YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh uses NTR to defame present TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and praise NTR at every given opportunity. In this election, too, the YSRCP has been using NTR’s image despite it strongly opposing the party founded by him.
