Feb 1, 1999
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ANDHRA PRADESH The Clash of the Heirs NTR's third son raises the banner of revolt against the chief minister. By Amarnath K Menon
Naidu's motives are not purely altruistic. Shortly after NTR's death, Naidu was involved in a bitter political brawl with the late chief minister's widow Lakshmi Parvati, who headed the rival TDP faction. He easily overcame that challenge but now finds himself the target of an attack from his brother-in-law N. Harikrishna, NTR's third son. "The TDP Government has ignored the contributions of NTR and the development and welfare goals that he had set for the state and its people," he thundered recently. Harikrishna may have set himself a stiff agenda, considering that Naidu seems comfortably ensconced in office. But the chief minister knows that in Harikrishna he is likely to encounter a foe considerably more dangerous than NTR's widow. Typically, in the beginning, Naidu ignored his brother-in-law, but as Harikrishna set out on a mass contact tour of the state and his meetings attracted massive crowds, he could no more afford to turn a blind eye. He told cabinet colleagues to tour the state to explain to the people that his Government had never deviated from the policies enunciated by NTR. He was also careful enough to warn his colleagues against making personal attacks on his brother-in-law, lest it send wrong signals to the party cadres. NTR's son has reason to be angry. He had helped Naidu organise the coup that led to NTR's ouster, and though not an MLA the chief minister had rewarded him by inducting him into the Cabinet as transport minister. But he resigned as he failed to get elected as a legislator within the mandatory six months. A few months later, he won elections to the Assembly but by then fissures had developed between the two brothers-in-law. Though Naidu expanded his Cabinet twice, he kept Harikrishna out, offering him a sop by making him the chief of the Telugu Yuvatha.
Last week, in a letter to the chief minister, he accused Naidu's Government of systematically trying to undo the NTR legacy. The list of charges was long -- removing all photos of NTR from the party membership books and publicity posters, government not lobbying hard enough with the Central Government to confer the Bharat Ratna on NTR, sidelining his pro-poor policies like subsidised rice and cheap power to farmers and abandoning others that were close to NTR's heart like prohibition. "I cannot sit idle when they ignore NTR's ideals and his legacy," he fumed. Naidu would perhaps have treated Harikrishna's tantrums as a harmless distraction, but with assembly elections due in the state before the end of the year he knows he cannot afford to do so. The TDP politburo has reacted by terming Harikrishna's remarks as "highly objectionable and derogatory" but would rather that Naidu take the initiative to restrain his brother-in-law and if that fails, to contain the damage. Some party members have even suggested that Harikrishna be suspended for flouting party discipline. That strategy has worked in the past. In 1997, film star and Rajya Sabha member Mohan Babu accused the chief minister of betraying NTR and was soon expelled from the party. But Harikrishna is a tougher candidate who has the support of the disgruntled in the TDP. But more importantly perhaps, as NTR's son he has as much if not a greater claim to the late chief minister's legacy. Naidu's aides are pinning their hopes on either the chief minister succeeding in containing the revolt or the line-ups in this inner party struggle crystallising well ahead of the assembly elections, so that the chief minister is able to marginalise his opponents. The signs of mutiny in the ruling party appears to be a godsend to the opposition Congress. Last February, the TDP was battered by a resurgent Congress in the Lok Sabha elections and there were no fissures in the party then. "This is a TDP sideshow at public expense," says K. Rosiah, Congress MP. Naidu does not have too much time to contain the revolt. If he fails, the Congress is waiting in the wings to take over. |
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In September 1995, in a midnight
coup, N. Chandrababu Naidu deposed his father-in-law and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief
N.T. Rama Rao (NTR), to assume office as the youngest chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Shocked at the perfidy, NTR suffered a massive stroke in January 1996 and died. Three and
a half years later, a remorseful Naidu is busy trying to revive NTR's legacy. Giant
cut-outs of the film star-turned-politician, which had been gathering dust for years, have
now been brought out and put up along the main thoroughfares of Hyderabad. NTR's statues
in the city are being spruced up even as new ones are erected and his photographs are once
again being printed on the covers of party pamphlets and booklets. Recently, Naidu
sanctioned Rs 4 crore to the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority to complete the granite
flooring of NTR's cremation site on the banks of the Hussain Sagar Lake and even pledged
another Rs 18 crore to develop the adjoining environs as a tribute to the memory of the
late leader. 
Harikrishna obviously
believes it is too insignificant a post for someone of his stature and has been trying to
capitalise on the disenchantment within the TDP to further his cause. Says he, "Naidu
employs 'use and discard' tactics with colleagues." He was also resentful of Naidu's
stranglehold over the party, threatening his ministers, MLAs and party cadres and using
the media for selective leaks to discipline them. "Total demoralisation has set in in
the party," says Harikrishna. 
