He's an actor, politician -- a sitting MLA seeking to get elected to the state assembly this time around. But apparently, TDP's Nandamuri Balakrishna hates the camera so much, he has to chase his own party worker and kick him in the gut to snatch his cell phone and throw it in the air for daring to capture his visuals. Either that, or someone forgot to pass on the memo that this was an election rally, not the shoot for an action sequence.
Surrounded by yellow flag-bearing TDP supporters, Balakrishna turned on his own party worker at a campaign rally in Chipurupally. The once-festive scene had been filled with shouts and cheers before turning sour as Balakrishna began kicking and hitting the unidentified TDP activist.
Balakrishna is infamous for his repeated physical and verbal abuses against fans, journalists and supporters, and this is his second incident in the last 10 days. Balakrishna, a sitting MLA and a star campaigner of the ruling Telugu Desam Party, will contest from Hindupur constituency in the assembly elections.
Balakrishna’s most recent altercation occurred on Sunday while his brother-in-law Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was campaigning in Chipurupally Assembly constituency for party leader Kimidi Nagarjuna.
The road leading to Gurla was jammed with cars and bikes belonging to TDP cadres as they had begun a bike rally in town. A video of the incident shows Balakrishna chasing an unidentified TDP worker, then hitting and kicking him.
The visuals also shows Balakrishna grabbing the TDP worker’s mobile phone and throwing it away. In another video, the politician is also seen threatening a person trying to record the incident on video.
Recently, Balakrishna slapped a local journalist in Hindupur as he was trying to record a video of an event. Following outrage from the media circles, he has issued an open apology to journalists.