Union Home Minister Amit Shah met actor Junior NTR (Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao) on Sunday, August 21 in Hyderabad. Jr NTR is a popular Telugu actor and grandson of senior actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), who was the founder of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Since then, speculations are rife that the meeting was a part of larger strategy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. Meanwhile, Kodali Nani, MLA from Gudivada constituency in Andhra Pradesh who is reportedly close to Jr NTR, stated that the interaction was part of the BJP’s party expansion plans.

The BJP, however, has maintained that the Union Minister was impressed with Jr NTR’s performance in the recent movie RRR. The actor shot to global fame through his role as Komaram Bheem in the movie, which was directed by SS Rajamouli. The movie also stars Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt among others.

Speaking to the media, Kodali Nani said, “Modi and Amit Shah are determined to bring the BJP either to power or become the opposition. They do not waste a single minute on anyone if that is not going to benefit them politically. Even after waiting for hours in Delhi, Chandrababu Naidu (TDP chief and former Andhra Chief Minister) did not get an appointment with Amit Shah. Because, they know that he is not worth it.”

The MLA added, “I don’t buy the argument that Amit Shah met Jr NTR to appreciate him for RRR. Jr NTR has done a lot of films before, close to 25 films, many of them have also been dubbed in Hindi. He could have appreciated that. It is not because of his performance in the movie, it’s because NTR is a hero from the two Telugu states and has attained stardom all over India recently. Shah-Modi duo will not meet anyone who is not useful to them politically. The meeting was to strengthen the BJP in the Telugu states.”

Watch the video of Kodali Nani here :