Hero Nandamuri Balakrishna was also in the race for the lone Rajya Sabha seat form Andhra Pradesh o the TDP ticket. Many party members had proposed his name to Babu. Even Babu toyed with the idea of nominating Balayya babu for the seat.
Balayya is the only actor who has a fan following on par with Chiranjeevi and can command their loyalty. He is seen as one who can effectively counter Chiranjeevi in terms of popularity and charisma.

But Nandamuri Harikrishna has evinced a keen interest in the seat. After learning bout this, Balayya is said to have opted out of the race. He feels that his brother Harikrishna is more suitable than him for the seat.

By his decision, Balayya has taken a big load off the head of Chandra Babu Naidu. Naidu. Babu can now take a decision freely. The majority opinion in the party is veering round to the view that Harikrishna would b the best choice at the present juncture.