The ruling Telugu Desam Party, headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is set for an organisational overhaul ahead of the party’s biennial conclave ‘Mahanadu’ to be held in Kadapa town later this month.
Naidu’s son and the state IT and HRD Minister, Nara Lokesh, is likely to be appointed as the party’s working president, signalling a generational transfer of leadership. At present, Lokesh (41), a Stanford-educated businessman turned politician, is the TDP general secretary.
The upcoming conclave, to be held from 27 to 29 May, is expected to introduce organisational changes to bring in new faces and energise the party.
The elevation of Lokesh as the working president draws immediate comparisons with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana, whose working president, K T Rama Rao, is the son of former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The party is now in opposition, with Congress ruling Telangana.
The proposal to appoint Lokesh as the working president came up for discussion at a recent meeting of the TDP politburo, held at the party’s head office in Mangalagiri, Guntur district.
“Naidu wants to hand over party responsibilities to Lokesh so that he can focus on governance and administration,” party sources said.
Senior TDP leader and state Agriculture Minister K Atchennaidu told reporters, “For now, the politburo decided that mandal-level party presidents who have served for three terms would either be elevated to state-level posts or given parallel party positions.”
However, he did not clarify whether the decision would apply to other positions in the party.
“In fact, Lokesh himself indicated earlier that he does not want to continue in the general secretary post again, as he has already served in the role for three consecutive terms (totalling six years),” the party sources said.
In such a scenario, Lokesh might be elevated to the post of working president.
It is no secret that Lokesh is being groomed to take over the reins of the 43-year-old party from his septuagenarian father. TDP leaders and cadres are increasingly pushing for Lokesh’s promotion, citing his leadership role in the party's successful membership drive, which saw over one crore new members join.
Another change expected during ‘Mahanadu’ is the induction of younger faces into the party, particularly in the state committee and politburo.
“While seniors will continue in important positions, mostly in advisory roles, Lokesh wants to prepare a young brigade of leaders by the next elections,” party sources said.
Lokesh, who is widely perceived as Naidu’s heir apparent, is expected to set the road map for the party in the coming years.
Backroom strategist
Ever since his quiet entry into party politics in 2013, Lokesh was more of a backroom strategist in his initial days, contributing to party policies and programmes. He was made the coordinator of the TDP Workers’ Welfare Fund and later became a formal party member at the TDP’s ‘Mahanadu’ in 2013.
Two years later, he was appointed general secretary in the first firm indication of the succession plan within the regional party. Lokesh was largely seen as an organisational man with limited public speaking skills.
He was inducted into the cabinet in 2017 via the Legislative Council route. He contested his first election in 2019 from the Mangalagiri Assembly constituency but lost to YSR Congress Party candidate Alla Ramakrishna Reddy by a significant margin. However, in the 2024 elections, he won the seat and became a minister.
‘Mahanadu’ agenda
Meanwhile, speaking about the agenda for ‘Mahanadu’, TDP’s Andhra Pradesh president Palla Srinivasa Rao told reporters, “On the first day, there will be discussions on party policies, ideologies, and the action plan, alongside the commencement of the process for the formal election of the TDP president. On Day 2, the party president will be declared elected, and resolutions will be passed on development and welfare programmes initiated by the coalition government. On 29 May, a public meeting will be held at Kadapa, where Naidu will roll out the party’s road map for the next four years.”
Atchennaidu added that the politburo resolved to announce a welfare calendar to ensure the delivery of benefits every month throughout the year. “It was decided that the government would credit cash amounts to accounts of beneficiaries under the Deepam 2.0 scheme, under which each beneficiary will receive three LPG cylinders a year, even before booking the cylinders.”
He further stated that on 12 June, marking one year of the government’s formation, pensions would be distributed to one lakh single women and widows.
The politburo also resolved that the government would launch the “Talli Ki Vandanam” scheme (a payment of ₹20,000 to each woman for sending her children to school) and “Annadata Sukhibhava” (a payment of ₹20,000 to each farmer annually) on the same day.
“Free bus travel for women will also be introduced within two months,” the Minister said.
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