TDP demands ban on Lakshmi's NTR release: Here is Election Commission's first response

The CEO of Election Commission, Rajat Kumar, has finally responded on Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) complaint, seeking a ban on the release of Ram Gopal Varma's upcoming film Lakshmi's NTR.

Lakshmi's NTR is a biographical movie on based on the of late actor-turned-politician NT Rama Rao's life. The movie chronicles controversies caused by the entry of Lakshmi Parvathi in his life. Its promos show that the movie targets Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Nandamuri family members.

A TDP worker named Devibabu Choudhary complained to the Election Commission in the last week. In his complaint, he stated that Lakshmi's NTR will defame AP CM Chandrababu Naidu, by showcasing him as backstabber of late NT Rama Rao. Since the film hits the screen weeks before the general elections, it will affect the voters. Hence, he requested the Commission to stop its theatrical release.

Weeks after the filing the complaint, CEO Rajat Kumar has responded on this issue and said that the Commission would look into the aspects to confirm if the film has any content that could be a violation of the code of conduct such as asking for the votes or influencing a particular religion or region.

Rajat Kumar, there are specific guidelines to govern all media, including the social media and his team would look for specific violations before taking a final decision on the plea. "We have to see if there is an appeal for vote or mention about the caste, religion and other aspects that can influence voters," the Hindu quoted the CEO of Election Commission as saying.

There are enough hints in its teaser, trailers, songs and poster that Ram Gopal Varma is targeting one person (Nara Chandrababu Naidu). In fact, the director has directly mentioned his name as backstabber of NTR on his Twitter and Facebook pages. On March 13, he tweeted, "THE ANDHRA PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER @ncbn AND MY OWN CHILDREN KILLED ME —NTR   #LakshmiNTR (sic)."

On the other hand, Lakshmi's NTR is jointly produced by Deepthi Balagiri and Rakesh Reddy, who is a supporter of opposition leader Jagan Mohan Reddy, the chief of Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP). This can be another reason for TDP to claim that the movie is made to tarnish the image of CBN.