Akhila Priya’s Comments Anger Traders Community In Nandyal 

Minister Bhuma Akhila Priya is fast emerging as the past master in the art of putting one's foot in the mouth. Campaigning for her cousin Bhuma Brahmananda Reddy in Nandyal by-elections, she has made comments that hurt the business community, who form a substantial part of the voters in Nandyal.

On Friday, she held a meeting with the traders in the local vegetable market in Gandhi Chowk to canvass for the ruling Telugu Desam Party. Speaking on the occasion, he said: "You should all support the Telugu Desam as my father Bhuma Nagireddy has stood through all your Daridram (ill-luck). Daridram is a highly derogatory expression in Telugu.

The traders, who heard the remarks were shell-shocked as the expression is extremely demeaning and hurting. Many had immediately protested the choice of the word. Later, she had also announced several sops to the trading community.

In the poll-bound Nandyal assembly constituency, trading community is the second biggest vote bank after the Muslims and the ruling TDP is pulling all stops to woo the trading community. The bypoll was necessitated by the sudden death of her father Bhuma Nagi Reddy, who won on the YSRCP ticket and later defected along with Bhuma Akhila Priya to the ruling Telugu Desam Party .