With Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu ruling out the possibility of nominating elected representatives – whether it is an MLA or an MP – as Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams trust board chairman post, the competition for this coveted post has come down drastically.
Several MLAs like Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy and Dhulipalla Narendra and a couple of MPs including Narsaraopet MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao and Rajahmundry MP Maganti Muralimohan were in the race for the TTD chairman post.
However, Naidu told all of them bluntly that no elected representative would be allowed to hold two posts simultaneously. In fact, Rayapati went to the extent of quitting his MP seat for the sake of the TTD chairman post, but Naidu did not agree for the same.
That has left the field open for several TDP leaders who could not get elected as MLAs or MPs, besides neutral candidates.
The latest names doing rounds in the party circles are that of retired IAS officer Dr K Lakshminaryana and former IT advisor to the state government Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary.
Lakshminarayana was batch meet of Chandrababu Naidu at Sri Venkateswara University and he was Officer on Special Duty (OSD) when Naidu was the Chief Minister. He is presently Naidu’s advisor in the present government.
Hanuman Chowdary, who was recently awarded Padmasri, has the twin advantage. Besides being a Kamma, he was also a Naidu’s advisor in his earlier tenure and is a hardcore Hindutva activist. He is closer to the BJP and VHP circles at the national levels.
So, in all probability, the chance of becoming TTD chairman might go to Chowdary, unless Naidu wants to give it to a TDP loyalist.
