Controversial seer and BJP leader Swami Paripoornananda is gearing up to throw the spanner in the works for the TDP-BJP-Janasena alliance in Hindupur. On Friday, he invoked the ‘Hindutva’ card and vowed to contest for both Assembly and Lok Sabha seats of Hindupur, even if it meant breaking the so-called ‘alliance dharma’.
The spiritual guru and founder of ‘Sri Peetham’ is sulking over the BJP ignoring his plea to seek Hindupur as part of its share of seats in the alliance with the TDP and Janasena. The TDP eventually announced Ambika Lakshminarayana as its candidate on Friday. Reacting sharply to the turn of events, Swami Paripoornananda came into the open and vowed to defeat the NDA alliance by contesting as an independent. What’s more, he vowed to stay in the electoral fight for both the Assembly and Lok Sabha seats of Hindupur.
The seer’s latest assertion has not only created a new headache for the TDP and the BJP but is also turning out to be ominous for Nandamuri Balakrishna, Tollywood hero and TDP MLA from Hindupur.
Announcing his intention, Swami Paripoornananda accused TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu of ‘playing spoilsport’ to deny him an opportunity to fight from the Hindupur Lok Sabha seat. “Chandrababu Naidu has told the BJP leadership that my candidacy will adversely impact the alliance’s chances of winning the Muslim votes in the constituency. In other words, the TDP chief has mortgaged 75 percent of the majority Hindu votes in the constituency for the sake of a miniscule percentage of Muslim votes.
“I’m asking the alliance leaders to review their decision and nominate me from this constituency. Or else, I’m confident of emerging victorious in both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate. The name Hindupur itself gives me the confidence that the majority voters will side with me,” he commented.
The seer, who joined the saffron party in 2018, has been nursing hopes on Hindupur for quite some time, with an eye on its Hindu vote bank. He is even reported to have carried out extensive campaigning in the seven Assembly segments of the Parliamentary constituency.
If the controversial seer sticks to his guns and eventually enters the race as an independent for both the Assembly and Lok Sabha, then, the going might become tough for the NDA alliance candidates. This includes Balakrishna who is aiming at a hat-trick this time. If the spiritual guru-turned-politician goes on to invoke the ‘Hindutva’ card and manages to influence voters in a few pockets, then that may improve the chances of the YSRCP while denting the prospects of the alliance nominees.
Balakrishna, despite not doing any significant work in the constituency, has managed to win from Hindupur for two consecutive terms in 2014 and 2019. Hindupur has been a loyal bastion of the TDP ever since the days of its patriarch Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR). He scored a hat-trick from here by registering three straight victories in 1985, 1989 and 1994. Also, the TDP has never lost this seat since 1983, the year when NTR floated the party.