The whole of Andhra Pradesh bakes in the month of May. But Guntur bakes in a particular way, the heat is more white than anywhere else, the sun appears to be at touching distance at midday, the sunshine a blinding flash. That’s perhaps what gives the Guntur chilli the extra sting. On a sweltering midday like this we wait for the elevator to go up to the sixth floor apartment of Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, the richest candidate in these Lok Sabha elections. It seems to be a new building, his flat is plush and large but not ostentatious.
Chandra Sekhar wears the Rs 5,750 crores he owns lightly, looking trim in a fitting white shirt and grey trousers. He made his millions as a doctor in the United States, and his billions from the coaching institute he started for medical students which has over 600 employees now. He is one of the Telugu boys who made it good abroad during Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu’s salad days as chief minister in the mid-90’s. Now he wants to give it back to his country. He has joined the TDP and is all geared up to fight his first election from Guntur. “I joined because I could see the system was not working well in India. I wanted to contribute from what I had learned in the US. I thought joining the TDP was the best way as it is the only party which has done something for both the Telugu states (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana)."
He says if he wins his first attempt will be to help streamline the legal system. He wants to make the judicial system friendly to the common people, not something to be afraid of. He gives the example of a relative whose divorce case dragged on for more than eleven years, draining money and time of all parties concerned. “Legal cases take ages to settle. My first step will be to bring reforms in this area and make sure the poor and needy are also able to avail of our legal system,” he says.
Though Chandra Sekhar is all for reforms, he is against the Land Titling Act (LTA) proposed by the Jagan Reddy government aimed at buying and selling property. The LTA is a major election issue in Andhra Pradesh these elections, which had polls both for the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly. The TDP has painted LTA as a way for the government to usurp legitimate land holdings of people. “The LTA is a wrong step, there is so much corruption in this area. These reforms can happen only when the systems are in place. It cannot be thrust upon people,” he says.
Chandra Sekhar says the present state government’s welfare schemes are profligate and will lead to bankruptcy of the exchequer. “Yes, there have to be welfare schemes. But it cannot be extreme. There has to be development of the state simultaneously, there has to be industry to fund the welfare schemes. The welfare schemes can’t be through debt,” he says. According to him, the TDP did the right thing by letting bygones be bygones and coming back to the NDA. “Mr Modi has made India’s name worldwide. I will give you an example. Nobody knew of Diwali in the US. But now mnay Indian companies declare Diwali as a holiday there. That’s because of Mr Modi’s leadership,” he says.
Isn’t it a burden to be the richest candidate in this Lok Sabha elections? Won’t there be many pulls and pressures? “My entire wealth is outside India. It is all tax paid and I have nothing to be afraid of,” he says.
