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Naidu unanimously re-elected TDP chief for 30th year in a row
TDP election committee chairman and politburo member Varla Ramaiah announced the re-election of Naidu as the party president
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu was on Wednesday unanimously re-elected as the president of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for the 30th consecutive year on the second day of Mahanadu, the party’s three-day conclave held at Kadapa.
TDP election committee chairman and politburo member Varla Ramaiah announced the re-election of Naidu as the party president, as his was the only nomination filed for the post.
Later, Naidu took the oath as the TDP president and vowed to stand by the party cadre and strive for strengthening the party. “I thank every member of the party for unanimously re-electing me and entrusting me with this responsibility. The strength and soul of the Telugu Desam Party are its leaders and cadre,” he said.
Naidu was first elected as the TDP president in August 1995 after dethroning his father-in-law and TDP founder NT Rama Rao. Since then, he has been unanimously elected as the party president.
The anticipated anointment of Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh as the working president of the party did not happen, though several party leaders including TDP state unit president Palla Srinivasa Rao, politburo member Kalva Srinivasulu, Union minister K Rammohan Naidu and state finance minister Payyavula Kesav, who spoke at Mahanadu, requested that Lokesh be entrusted with the responsibilities of the TDP working president.
Senior party leader and former minister Dhulipalla Narendra said a resolution was passed at the Mini Mahanadu held by the Guntur district unit of the TDP, requesting that Lokesh be made the party working president. “We have given a copy of the resolution to Naidu and asked him to delegate the key responsibilities to Lokesh,” he said.
Kesav said it is a necessity that Lokesh should be made the TDP working president. “He is a unanimous choice of every party leader and worker for the post,” he said.
‘NDA will retain power in 2029’
Addressing the party workers at Mahanadu earlier, the chief minister explained at length how the TDP could come back to power in Andhra Pradesh in the May 2024 elections by joining hands with the Jana Sena Party (JSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with a huge mandate.
“The people of the state have delivered an unprecedented verdict in history in favour of the TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance. The alliance created a massive wave by achieving a 94% success rate in the elections which is a rare feat in the country’s political history. With 57% of the votes, the people blessed the alliance,” he said.
The chief minister said the alliance would stay united for a bigger victory in the 2029 polls. “The responsibility of gaining a bigger victory in the 2029 polls than the 2024 majority is on all of you. You have to express your approval and joy over this,” he said.
The political resolution adopted at the Mahanadu thanked all sections of the people, including NRIs from different parts of the world and Telugu voters staying outside Andhra Pradesh, who had voted for the alliance in a big way.
The resolution said the TDP was committed to the ideals of party founder NT Rama Rao and highlighted four decades of political legacy, governance reforms, and renewed pledges for inclusive development under the leadership of Naidu.
The resolution outlined the party’s journey from its inception in 1982 — born out of a movement to restore Telugu self-respect — to its transformative role in welfare governance and national politics.
The Mahanadu concluded with a call for party workers to and work for the implementation of its six-point agenda: Cadre as leader, youth empowerment, social justice, women’s welfare, farmer support, and global Telugu identity.
