Rules for Fools: Naidu’s Nepotism Exposed

Vijayawada: The Telugu Desam Party president Chandrababu Naidu has come under fire for adopting double standards in the implementation of the party's 'one family, one ticket' rule ahead of the upcoming elections in Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu had announced the rule to restrict only one member from a family getting a ticket to contest the polls. However, reports suggest that the TDP chief made exceptions for several influential families, allowing them two or even three assembly tickets.

While Paritala Sunitha was allocated the Raptadu assembly ticket, her son Sriram was denied a ticket from Dharmavaram constituency, citing the party's rulebook. Similarly, senior leader Chintakayala Ayyanna Patrudu accepted one ticket from Narsipatnam after the party refused to field his son Vijay from Anakapalli.

In contrast, all four members of Naidu's family are in the fray. Naidu himself is contesting from Kuppam, his son Lokesh from Mangalagiri, brother-in-law Balakrishna from Hindupur, and Balakrishna's son Bharath has been given the Visakhapatnam MP ticket.

The Yanamala family has also been granted multiple tickets, with Yanamala's daughter contesting from Thuni, his son-in-law Putta Mahesh Yadav from Eluru, and Putta Sudhakar Yadav, the father-in-law of her daughter, from Mydukuru assembly segment. 

Former Rajya Sabha MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy, who recently joined TDP from YSRCP, has been given a chance to contest from Nellore MP seat, while his wife Prasanthi Reddy has been fielded from Kovvuru assembly constituency. These exceptions have drawn criticism from party leaders who accuse Naidu of applying the rule selectively to benefit his own family and loyalists.

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