ONGOLE: Already plagued by infighting in the district, the TDP suffered another blow when the nomination of Kadiri Babu Rao, its Assembly candidate for the Kanigiri constituency, was rejected by returning officer Kishore.
The candidate, it appears, had not signed the affidavit in the application form. With the TDP not even caring to put in applications by dummy candidates in the constituency, it will now be the Congress and Praja Rajyam fighting for the Kanigiri prize. Babu Rao, known in party circles as classmate of actor Balakrishna, was allotted a ticket in disregard of the claims of senior leader Mukku Kasi Reddy.
Telugu Desam president Chandrababu Naidu had taken care to seek out Kasi Reddy and assuage his feelings by explaining to him that he could not give him the ticket because of Babu Rao’s closeness with Balakrishna but that he (Kasi Reddy) would be accommodated after the elections. It may be recalled that supporters of Babu Rao and Kasi Reddy had clashed during during Naidu’s tour of the constituency as part of Mee Kosam, and the party president is learnt to have reprimanded both leaders.
Now, left without a candidate in the constituency due to its own oversight, the party has vent its frustration by complaining to the RO that although Babu Rao had submitted a duly signed affidavit, inimical political forces had played foul and seen to it that the application was rejected. RO Kishore denied it.