Sarada, the veteran actress, was a one-time MP in the mid-1990s. She was part of the TDP. In the 1998 General Elections, she was defeated.
In an interview a few years later, Sarada stated that hurdles were thrown at her by fellow politicians at every turn. Her attempts to serve her constituents fell apart. Her rivals, during elections, used the non-local card against her, saying that she lived in Chennai and not in Tenali, her constituency. The charge acquired weight with her rival candidate spending huge amounts of money to win the election.
At that time, Sarada tried to convince her voters that she devoted enough time to them. "I have not acted in any film for the past year and kept away from the film industry though I am basically an artiste," Sarada said. Sarada claimed that she toiled hard for schools to be opened and roads to be laid out. "The extension of the inter-city express train from Guntur to Tenali was one of my major achievements," she said.
In the past, Sarada also invested in a chocolate company, which started making losses after it changed hands. Sarada also had a failed marriage with actor Chalam.
