It appears there is enhanced focus on ‘Vaastu’ for the Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) Mahanadu, which is set to begin here on Friday.
This is the fourth time the party is holding the event in the temple city. The first event was conducted by party founder N.T. Rama Rao in 1982, while the others were organised by his successor N. Chandrababu Naidu in 2003 and 2007. The party has chosen the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Municipal Corporation High School for the second time after 2007.
Unlike the last time, Mr. Naidu will enter the venue through the north-east entrance of the venue developed specially for the purpose. He will hoist the party flag and garland the picture of NTR, even as the State anthem ‘Maa Telugu Thalliki’ is played in the background. He will inaugurate a blood donation camp, a photo exhibition and a three-dimensional picture gallery on NT Rama Rao. All the way, he will walk through the north-east corner before getting on to the dais. Party leaders in charge of the venue termed the arrangement as ‘nothing big’, as it is for the sake of convenience and security. A leader admitted that the “party follows local customs and traditions in vogue”.
The Mahanadu offers an array of delicacies representing all the 13 districts, besides Telangana. At least 32 varieties of food items will be on offer at the food courts, tagged under ‘Rayalaseema Ruchulu’, ‘Konaseema Vantakalu’ and ‘Coastha Ruchulu’ etc. “It will be a connoisseur’s delight,” says former Minister Galla Arunakumari, in charge of the culinary section. The school compound has been converted into a makeshift kitchen. Expert cooks have been brought from the respective districts to give the ‘authentic’ touch.
Only 800 VVIP cars will be allowed into the city up to the locality, while most of the delegate cars will be detained at designated parking lots developed in the university area, such as SV Arts College, SVU stadium, veterinary college grounds etc. Similarly, the party has taken possession of 13,000 rooms in hotels, kalyana mandapams and function halls for accommodating the leaders and cadre.
