The voters of Bapatla parliamentary constituency in Andhra Pradesh have a problem.
The two main candidates here -- the Congress' Daggupati Purandareswari and the Telugu Desam Party's Daggupati Rama Naidu -- are both trying to win their hearts in the name of TDP founder president and former chief minister Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao.
In fact, NTR is there in all their posters.
Sounds funny?
Actually both candidates are related to NTR -- Purandareswari is his daughter while Ramanaidu is her father-in-law's brother.
So whoever wins, it will all be in the family.
But what does it mean for the people? Once the parliamentary and assembly elections in the state are over, and representatives are chosen, will things change?
Here is a brief checklist of the problems ailing Bapatla, which has seven assembly constituencies, with Ponnur being the only one well off.
- There are no wells for irrigation as there is no sizable groundwater. In summers drinking water is a problem.
- The official power cut is six hours, but the reality is something else. Now that the elections are here, electricity is not such a problem, but people know the good days will not last.
- There is no industry worth its name. There is an ITC cigarette factory in Chirala, though. There were two spinning mill in the cooperative sector, but the government sold them off.
- On the education front, there are four engineering colleges and nothing on medicine. There is a biotechnology college, which belongs to Purandareswari.
NTR's daughter, who is 45 years old and is contesting an election for the first time, says, "The first thing I will do on getting elected is bring back industry to Bapatla. Drinking water is also an issue I will look into."
Purandareswari's husband represented the TDP in the assembly, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha before crossing over to the Congress. He is now contesting for an assembly seat in Bapatla.
Purandareswari is a literature graduate and holds a diploma in Gemology. She has two children -- her daughter, who accompanies her on her campaign, is a second year student in commerce while her son is in Class X.
She admits being dependent on NTR's charisma. "People who vote for me will do so because I am his daughter."
She lives in Karamchedu town, where Rama Naidu, who is the sitting MP, also stays.
Rama Naidu is the biggest film producer in Andhra. In fact, he has 145 films to his credit, an achievement noted in the Guinness book and the Limca book of records.
He still produces movies, which his elder son Suresh looks after. His other son, Venkatesh, is one of the most popular stars in Telugu cinema.
Venkatesh also campaigned for his father.
Rama Naidu told rediff.com that he was the one to introduce Madhuri Dixit, Karishma Kapoor, Divya Bharathi and Khusbhoo, among others.
Asked if he got any actresses to canvass for him, he said, "These days new heroines charge by the day. That is why I did not have them."
