Dissidence in Nagari TDP comes to fore as educationalist Ashok Raju resigns

Development seen as a reflection of the pent-up anger of Kshatriya community.

Educationalist and TDP leader K. Ashok Raju announcing his resignation to the primary membership of the party at a media conference in Tirupati. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

After announcing the candidature of Gali Bhanuprakash, son of former Minister Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu, for the Nagari Assembly constituency, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) faced unexpected trouble when educationalist K. Ashok Raju submitted his resignation to the party.

The tail-end constituency, bordering Tamil Nadu, is currently represented by Minister for Tourism and Culture R. K. Roja. Though Ms. Roja was expected to slog it out to ensure a safe return in view of the anti-incumbency, the split in the TDP rank and file is viewed as the proverbial ‘blessing in disguise’.

Mr. Raju, who has been running the Siddhartha group of educational institutions for more than two decades, announced his resignation at a press conference in Tirupati, pointing to the denial of ticket for the third time by the TDP leadership. “When I first sought the ticket in 2009, I was asked to wait. Then I was told to make way for Muddukrishnama Naidu in 2014”, he told The Hindu.

“After Bhanuprakash entered the fray following his father Mr. Naidu’s demise in 2018, Mr. Raju was once again told to make way, apparently to capture the ‘sentiment votes’. “And now in 2024, the party high command unilaterally declared Bhanuprakash as the candidate,” he rued.

Multi-cornered seat

Nagari is a typical constituency that has witnessed multi-cornered contests, with the Reddy, Kamma, Mudaliyar, Kshatriya and Scheduled Caste voters having equal dominance. While the candidates have mostly scraped through with a wafer-thin majority, it was only when Kshatriya candidates were in the fray, viz., E. Gopal Raju (1983) and V. Doraswamy Raju (1994), that the majority touched the 10,000 vote mark, indicating a general acceptance to the community over others.

Mr. Ashok Raju’s resignation is perceived as a reflection of the Kshatriya community’s pent-up anger against the TDP high command.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bhanuprakash faces stiff opposition at home, where his family issues with his mother and younger brother Gali Jagadish spilled over to the political arena. The duo has openly appealed to the party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu not to field Mr. Bhanuprakash, but to no avail.