As part of it, she will be visiting the kin of 105 party activists who 'died of shock' after the arrest of Naidu and commiserate with them.
Published Oct 19, 2023 | 6:29 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 19, 2023 | 6:29 PM
Nara Bhuvaneswari during the Nyanaki Sankellu protest. (X)
Nara Bhuvaneswari, wife of former chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, is all set to hit the road and take a plunge into politics with her husband arrested over alleged corruption charges.
Daughter of the late chief minister NTR, Bhuvaneswari is yet to take part in rallies or public meetings. Now it appears it is imperative that she should.
She is ready with her Nijam Gelavali (Truth should triumph) programme. As part of it, she will be visiting the kin of 105 party activists who “died of shock” after the 9 September arrest of Naidu and commiserate with them. The programme might kick off in the last week of October.
The decision was apparently taken after the mulaqat (meeting) she, her daughter-in-law Brahmani and son Lokesh had with Naidu at the Rajamahendravaram Central Prison on Wednesday, 18 October.
With Chandrababu Naidu’s stay in prison getting longer than expected, Bhuvaneswari appears to be getting ready to take charge of the party.
Naidu has been in jail since 10 September after his arrest in the case related to the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development (APPSDC) scam, a day before.
Though her son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh has been mobilising support for his father, she has firmed up her decision to take a plunge into politics as Lokesh, too, is facing the possibility of arrest with the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) probing him in corruption cases.
Lokesh’s wife Brahmani too may have to take a deep dive into active politics sooner rather than later. For them, politics is a different ball game altogether and it remains to be seen to what extent they would be successful.
They are basically entrepreneurs, who are on the board of directors of Heritage Foods as executive directors. Brahmani is an engineer and has an MBA degree from Stanford University.
Under Nijam Gelavali, Bhuvaneswari would be addressing public meetings, where she is expected to give an account of how her husband has been set up in cases out of spite by the YSRCP government.
Bhuvaneswari is expected to carry the weight of the party on her shoulders and ensure that the cadres remain together. She also has to ensure that the cadre network of the party does not break up with their leader being in jail.
Since Naidu’s arrest, both Bhuvaneswari and Brahmani are camping at Rajamahendravaram to lend moral support to Naidu. They are meeting him during frequent mulaqats and are finalising the party programmes to keep the momentum going.
Naidu apparently asked his wife, son and daughter-in-law not to let the agitation against Jagan Mohan Reddy lose steam, under any circumstances. He believes that if it did, it would become difficult to revive it.
Even the cadres would lose faith in the party springing back to life, Naidu reportedly told them.
Bhuvaneswari had already tested the muddy waters. She took part in several programmes — Nyanaki Sankellu, Kanthitho Kranthi and Motha Mogiddam.
As Naidu’s quash petition is still before the Supreme Court, there is uncertainty over when and whether he would walk out of the prison.
Though the TDP has hired the most expensive lawyers, they seem to be not getting anywhere as there is no relief for Naidu.
Apparently, to prevent the possibility of Naidu walking out of prison, the CID has been slapping one case after the other against him.
Not to be outdone, Naidu’s lawyers are neck-deep in legal battles that are taking place in various courts in Andhra Pradesh and the Supreme Court every day.
Naidu’s arrest on 9 September came as a body blow to the Nara family and the entire TDP.
They did not expect that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy would go to the extent of arresting him, particularly when elections are less than a year away.
But Jagan Mohan Reddy seems to have given the go-ahead signal to the CID which swung into action and put Naidu behind bars.
