Fans propose, Naidu disposes Balayya speech at bhoomi puja

MANDADAM (Guntur): Film actor and TDP MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna was much in demand at the bhoomi puja programme here on Saturday as crowds wanted him to address them. However, their requests failed to translate into a reality as Chandrababu Naidu did not take them seriously.
Balakrishna was denied an opportunity to speak even as the chief minister kept prompting local farmers and school children to speak.Earlier, he was lustily cheered by enthusiastic fans when he came on to the dais. Despite Naidu not giving an opportunity, the crowds repeatedly interrupted proceedings with a request to allow Balayya, as he is called by fans, to address them for a while.
In fact, the crowds responded in a similar fashion when Naidu mentioned his mentor NT Rama Rao while narrating his efforts to transform Hyderabad into one of the most acclaimed cities in the country. Sporting a headgear and Rayban shades, Balayya held an ‘araka’ (plough) and posed for cameramen immediately after his brother-in-law tried his hand at the same at the booomi puja site.
Balayya’s son-in-law and Naidu’s son Lokesh too hogged the limelight. TDP MLC Nannapaneni Rajakumari said Lokesh Babu, as he is fondly referred to within party circles, is ‘chief minister-in-waiting’. “Bhuvaneswari garu has become grandmother and one day, I am sure, she will become mother of a chief minister,” Rajakumari said, even as Naidu smiled.
Lokesh found a prominent place along with his father as he was put up at a vantage point near the dais. Earlier, Naidu’s wife Bhuvaneswari took part in the bhoomi pooja and public meeting with her fractured hand in a sling. Lokesh Yuvasena, an outfit floated by his fans in the state capital area, handed over donations of Rs 25,000 for the capital city to Naidu.