However, for Naidu the biggest embarrassment came when his own younger brother, Ramamurthy Naidu, defied his diktat and held a rally and toured through Chittoor—the family’s native stronghold. The younger Naidu, a former legislator, had been sidelined by his brother after he was involved in a corruption scandal and lost in the last elections.
Despite warnings to the tdp members to keep away from the rebellious sibling, a fair number of local leaders turned up to welcome Ramamurthy on his arrival from Chennai and a fleet of 300 cars joined his district tour.
Despite Naidu’s warnings of stern action against rebels, there was much bickering over the recent appointments to party posts. This only exposed the deep divisions and factionalism within the tdp. Naidu was finally forced to publicly admonish legislator and former minister J. Padmavathi for threatening to resign in protest against a particular appointment.
