Nandamuri Balakrishna: A non-serious politician records a hat-trick from Hindupur

Hindupur: A serious and senior actor and not so serious politician that he is, Nandamuri Balakrishna, the three-time MLA is a fortunate son of the legendary actor-turned-politician, former chief minister and founder-president of TDP late Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, who proved himself to be the rightful heir of his father both as a seasoned actor and successful politician.

Born on June 10, 1960 in Chennai, he evinced keen interest in acting and acted as a child artiste at the age of 14. He was an actor who acted in 100 plus films and producer who carved out a very special niche for himself. While his first film was ‘Tatamma Kala, ‘Gautamiputra Satakarni’ is his 100th film released in 2017.

Balakrishna had been campaigning for TDP ever since the launch of TDP by his father in 1982 but he did not plunge into politics until 2014. The one controversial decision of his in 1995 was to go against his own father by supporting his brother-in-law N Chandrababu Naidu who led a coup against his father and dethroned him. Balakrishna however defended his decision saying he had to do it in the best interest of the party and family.

He plunged into electoral politics in 2014 by contesting from Hindupur Assembly constituency which was earlier represented by his father NTR and after his death by his elder brother Hari Krishna. Balakrishna also emerged victorious from the constituency in that election.

In 2019 too, at the height of Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy wave, Balakrishna won with a thumping majority. In fact, Balakrishna and Payyavula Keshav were the ones who won in undivided Anantapur district. The third time he won was in 2024 from Hindupur which was his hat-trick victory.

Balakrishna was a student of Nizam College in Hyderabad, where he completed his B.Com. He chose a safe constituency Hindupur and that suited his nature of being a non-serious politician. All said and done, he enjoyed success both in his movies and in his electoral politics.