Hindupur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna told his party MLAs of the Ananthapur district that there are proposals for naming the emerging capital city after late NTR. “Actually, I would like to divide Ananthapur district into two districts as Ananthapur and (Hindupur) NTR districts. In case, if the government put late NTR’s name to the capital city, then we can’t think about that option. Let us wait and see what is going to happen,” said Balakrishna.

Earlier, when the Congress government has renamed Kadapa district as YS Rajashekhar Reddy district, no one has objected it. But, the Congress party and TRS parties have strongly objected the Centre’s decision of putting late NTR name to the domestic terminal in Shamshabad International airport. Even the MPs like Chiranjeevi, KVP Ramachandra rao and many others from the Andhra Pradesh also have objected the Centre’s decision. However, they switched off their protests when Centre remains firm with its decision. So, one can imagine how the opposition parties may react if the ruling TDP government puts NTR’s name to the new capital city of the state.

Probably, this idea of putting NTR’s name to the capital city may become a controversy, because the two opposition parties in the state Congress and YSR Congress parties that are desperate to politicize every issue may not leave this also. They may make hue and cry if the state government put late NTR name to the capital city. So, the state government should think about the consequences before going ahead with its plans. It is wise to garner the people support to its proposal if it is really serious about it, otherwise it may face problems from the opposition parties.

If the state government has any plans to divide the Ananthapur district into two, then also it will be inviting fresh problems. Telangana CM KCR has planned to create 7 new districts in his state, but he dropped the idea after facing several unexpected problems. So, the AP government also should be cautious if it has any plans for dividing the Ananthapur district into two.