Same legacy, another claimant

As Harikrishna sits in a small office, the walls of which have photographs of NTR, in Hotel Aahwaanam in Hyderabad, small groups of people, mostly youngsters, come from various parts of the state to express their support.He receives them always but occasionally makes a brief speech if the crowd is big. From another room in the hotel, Harikrishna8217;s brother-in-law, Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, is in touchwith leaders from the districts, drawing up campaign schedules and other strategies.

There is a lot of enthusiasm and hope among all those associated with the party as it is just a fortnight old. The first leg of his tour of north Telangana districts 8212; Medak, Karimnagar, Nalgonda and Warangal was a success. Harikrishna plans to follow it up by touring the backward Rayalaseema region next week.

In keeping with the ideals behind floating the Anna TDP reviving the programmes of NTR, Harikrishna has already made big promises 8212; supply of rice at Rs 2 a kg, total prohibition and cheap clothing for the poor. 8220;I have plans to implement them,8221; says Harikrishna, without revealing how such a huge financial commitment could be met.

While Chandrababu Naidu maintained total silence with regard to Harikrishna, the latter has not minced words in accusing his brother-in-law of acts of omission and commission 8212; huge expenditure on publicity, diluting welfare schemes and corruption in award of works.

The rulingparty leaders are putting up a brave front claiming that Harikrishna would not affect their prospects but in private conversations they appear concerned about the damage he would cause.

As of now, there is no drift from the ruling party to Anna TDP. While Venkateswara Rao was in the BJP before joining hands with Harikrishna, the other Rajya Sabha member, Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad, is a known die-hard loyalist of NTR8217;s son. The only legislator who expressed support to the fledgling party, S. Madhusudhana Chary from Warangal district, was with the NTR-TDP of Lakshmi Parvati.

The first attempt by a ruling party MLA to defect to Harikrishna ended in a whimper. A.J.V.B. Maheswara Rao representing Allavaram in East Godavari district, who dropped enough hints of joining Anna TDP, changed his mind after a meeting with Chandrababu Naidu. Rao, who was upset over speculation in ruling party circles that he would not be given the ticket in the next elections, was mollified by the Chief Minister.

While advisingparty leaders that they should not be unduly worried over the crowds Harikrishna is attracting for his meetings, Naidu emphasised that every effort should be made to prevent TDP functionaries from drifting to the new party.

Harikrishna and the Left parties too have made overtures to each other but this seems to be more of a ploy by the Communists to hand out a threat to Naidu. 8220;Harikrishna8217;s statements on secularism or price-rise are welcome. But he has so far not come out with a full-fledged policy for his party. We have to wait and see whether he would be willing to join the fourth front that the Left and other parties are planning to forge,8221; said CPM state secretary B.V. Raghavulu.

BJP state unit president and MP Ch. Vidyasagar Rao is sarcastic in his reaction. 8220;NTR often said that the Telugu Desam would die with him. All the three 8212; Chandrababu Naidu, Lakshmi Parvati and Harikrishna are claiming to be true inheritors of Rama Rao8217;s legacy. But if they are faithful to the late leader, they shouldwind up the parties and float new ones with independent manifestos without reference to NTR8217;s policies,8221; he said.The ruling TDP leaders, who put Rama Rao on the backburner after his death three years, are now forced to talk about him. Naidu recently said that his party was still wedded to NTR8217;s policies.

The immediate victim of Harikrishna8217;s entry into the political arena is Lakshmi Parvati, who has been pushed to the background. Harikrishna has even spurned her offer of support prompting Parvati to accuse him of being a conspirator, along with Naidu.

Adding family sentiment to the political drama, NTR8217;s daughter, Purandareswari Venkateswara Rao8217;s wife inaugurated the office of the Anna TDP. But Rao scotched speculation about her possible entry into politics saying 8220;she has no such plans as of now8221;.

Everything is not fine for Harikrishna, though. When Rama Rao entered politics in 1982, he had a long film career behind him and the people of Andhra Pradesh, particularly women and the poor, virtuallyidolised him, thanks to his mythological roles. But Harikrishna has no such past. He is pulling crowds, however, women are not found in large numbers at his meetings so far. The other major factor as far elections are concerned is organisational setup which will take time to build.