Almost 25 years after N Chandrababu Naidu became the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for the first-time riding on a wave of support from the backward classes and Kapus as well as the Kammas, the former CM announced some interesting developments within the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
27 September 2020 marked an important milestone in TDP’s history, as Naidu announced next-generation developments within the party. 25 parliamentary unit Presidents were appointed by the TDP Chief. In the statement to the press, the TDP party announced that after a transparent process, the party has decided on 25 parliamentary unit heads to lead its efforts in these regions. Thus, marking a shift from its earlier district-oriented model towards a structure that is closer to citizens across the 25 parliamentary seats in the State.
An agile Naidu has been nimble enough to accommodate the current needs of the State. It is understood that these changes are being rolled out to help TDP members raise local issues and empower citizens of Andhra Pradesh to hold the YSRCP government to account.
Of the 25 parliamentary posts awarded to various leaders, only 5 Kamma leaders have been named. Often criticized by the YSRCP as a “Kamma party”, the TDP’s announcements from Sunday are a befitting response to YSRCP’s malicious attacks. Just last year, the TDP supremo was reported to have remarked, “If TDP were a ‘Kamma party’, I would have lost my own seat of Kuppam; as of the 2 lakh voters in Kuppam only 1000 belonged to the Kamma caste.”
50% of the Parliamentary Presidents come from the backward class and Kapu combine. Among the 25 office bearers named, names that have created murmurs in political circles are 32-year Kimidi Nagarjuna from Vizianagaram and Palla Srinivas from Visakhapatnam belonging to the influential Yadava community. From the Kapu community, popular leaders like former Rajya Sabha MP Thota Seetharama Lakshmi from Narsapuram and senior TDP leader Jyothula Nehru’s son Jyothula Navin in Kakinada have been made parliamentary unit Presidents in the recent announcement.
The announcement is an amalgamation of Naidu’s efforts to bring together diverse communities from Kammas to Reddys to Kapus and BCs including Yadavas and Thurapa Kapu. A clear balance of religious harmony and castes, these appointments are a major development since the 2019 defeat of TDP in the State assembly elections.
