Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu will step into a new role as president of the party central committee handling the responsibility of pitching the TDP as a national party.
The constitution of the central committee was in the offing ever since the TDP leadership passed a resolution to secure national party status for the TDP during its biennial conclave Mahanadu in May this year. The central committee will be the core organ guiding the party’s activities in the two States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana besides exploring options for expanding it to areas in other States like Karnataka, Odisha and Tamil Nadu where there is a sizeable Telugu population.
The party leadership has given due representation to Telangana with seven of the 16-member Polit Bureau hailing from that State. By nominating a majority of senior leaders like E. Dayakar Rao, Rathod Ramesh, M. Narsimhulu, T. Devender Goud and R. Chandrasekhar Reddy, the party leadership has tried to instil confidence among the party cadre in Telangana that it has its eyes set on regaining lost ground in the new State.
The party has also tried to strike a caste balance in the selection of Telangana representatives to the Polit Bureau.
Interestingly, Mr. Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh has been made an ex-officio member of the party’s highest decision-making body along with the TDP president’s close confidant, Y. Satyanarayana (Sujana) Chowdary and the presidents of the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh units.
Harikrishna retained
Mr. Lokesh has also been made the general secretary (organisation) of the party’s central committee, and his inclusion as an ex-officio member of the politburo indicates the dominant role he will play in the party in the coming days.
Another key appointment to the Polit Bureau is Nandamuri Harikrishna, elder son of TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao, who has been staying away from party affairs ever since his resignation from the Rajya Sabha in protest against the bifurcation of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
Though party leaders maintain that Mr. Harikrishna has been there in the apex body and has been continued in the position, the inclusion of his name now is said to be a move to placate the NTR family which is said to be not on good terms with Mr. Naidu.
Jumbo committees
In the constitution of the State committees too, Mr. Naidu has tried to strike a balance of regional, caste and other factors.
The jumbo committees, consisting of 70 members in Andhra Pradesh and 94 in Telangana, indicate the party’s careful moves to ensure that there is no scope for dissatisfaction in any section.
As expected, A. Revanth Reddy, one of the accused in the cash-for-vote episode, has been given the post of working president in the Telangana unit while another accused Sandra Venkata Veeraiah has been made general secretary.
The inclusion of these two names in the Telangana State committee is said to be a device to send a strong signal to cadres that the party leadership will stand by leaders who have proven their loyalty to the party.
