When Telugu Desam party decided to zero in on Hyderabad for its 34th Mahanadu, lot of political significance was attached to it. The first of them was sending a strong message to its adversaries that it continued to enjoy strong support in Telangana despite electoral setback and a few MLAs crossing over to Telangana Rashtra Samithi camp. The party intended to buttress the oft- repeated refrain that some leaders may have left but the cadre continues to be with it.
Secondly, held in the backdrop of imminent elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the party wanted to demonstrate that it is indeed a force to reckon with in Twin Cities and outlying areas and is no push over.
The party after all had proved it by winning one MP and eight MLA seats in these areas last year, explaining why TRS targets TDP and lures more and more into its fold.
The third strong signal it wanted to send out was that Telugu Desam government of Andhra Pradesh would rather use the legitimate 10- year period granted by the AP State Reorganisation Act to stay put in the joint capital of Hyderabad and move out on its own terms rather than bow to the threats and taunts of TRS to pack off to Vijayawada.
Yet the just concluded three-day Mahanadu, the first one after bifurcation, has not come up with any political tactical line, as one would expect, of how it plans to reach ambitious political goalposts it has set for itself in Telangana. But for the Chief Minister and the newly elected national president of the party, N. Chandrababu Naidu’s bravado that the party would assume power in Telangana in the next Assembly elections in 2019, no concrete strategy was discernable in the political resolution that could infuse confidence among party legislators some of whom are under tremendous pressure to switch over to TRS.
Token reference
They now nurse a grudge that Mr. Naidu had devoted much of his inaugural speech to Andhra Pradesh where it was in power and made no attempt to connect to the leaders, cadre and people in Telangana. All he did was to make a token reference to how he treated the two Telugu states on a par as reflected in the Kakatiya and Amaravathi cultural motifs he had chosen for display on the either side of the Mahanadu stage and ensure that some of the big Telangana leaders sit in the front row.
Tackling the challenge faced by the party in Telangana was not the only issue that was kept unresolved. Mahanadu’s brain storming failed to find answers to other ticklish political issues. The party has gone national, a notable feature of this Mahanadu. but it is still clue-less on how it wants to get four Lok Sabha seats and six percent of vote share in Assembly elections in four states, the fundamental requirement for getting national party recognition. All that senior leader and Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu did was to allay the fears that Telugu Desam would change its name and election symbol.
Ties with BJP
Mahanadu could not give clarity on the party’s future relations with the BJP led NDA government given the latter’s clear reluctance to accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh. The BJP is not prepared to walk that extra mile to grant that benefit to AP. Apparently it has its own political calculations. Huge funds for the capital and Polavaram national project too elude the state. Far from showing at least a semblance of protest, the political resolution praised Narendra Modi government sky high.
In fact showering praises became the running theme of Mahanadu Mr. Naidu being the first recipient and the next being his son, Nara Lokesh. Senior leaders vied with one another in rooting for Lokesh in what appeared to be an well-orchestrated campaign to anoint him as general secretary. Though Mr. Naidu calculatedly refused to oblige and put it off to a later date, this Mahanadu will go down in TDP’s history as the one that saw dynastic transition and virtually edging out Nandamuri family from power race in Telugu Desam.
