Nearly seven years after losing power, the Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu has made a candid admission that the alliance with the BJP-led NDA had caused a lot of damage to his party.

The long friendship with the “communal” BJP had resulted in the alienation of Muslims from TDP. In a frank introspection at the party’s annual conclave “Mahanadu”, Naidu admitted that the TDP had to suffer the consequences of the Muslim anger in the wake of the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.

For the first time, Naidu tendered apology to the minority community for his party’s alliance with BJP and assured them he would never repeat the mistake.

The TDP, he assured, would strive to protect the interests of minorities and would stand by them in future. 

“During our rule, we had committed some mistakes. I express my sincere regrets for that. Supporting the NDA regime was one of the mistakes. Despite our persistent demand, the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi did not resign after the Godhra violence. As a result, Mulsims have moved away from us. Such mistakes will never happen and we will never ever have an alliance with communal forces,” Naidu told the gathering of his party workers.

Continuing his confessional mood, he said he had ignored the interests of the government employees and assured that he would never repeat such mistakes, according to lead stories in “Andhra Jyothy” and “Eenadu”. 

Earlier, he had also confessed to certain policy errors pertaining to agriculture sector and promised nine-hour free power supply to farmers if his party was elected to power in the next elections.

Naidu’s bold attempt to take a fresh look at his party’s policies shows that he is keen for an image make-over. He is desperate to offload the baggage of the past and prove to the voters that he is a changed man now. The anti-farmer and pro-rich image was one of the main reasons attributed to the TDP’s rout in the previous elections.

Meanwhile, the ruckus created by NTR’s son and TDP MP N Harikrishna at the Mahanadu venue has hogged the media headlines across major publications. The maverick leader had left the meeting venue in a huff, apparently peeved over the posters and banners of Naidu’s industrialist-son Nara Lokesh dominating the Mahanadu venue.

According to a report in “Andhra Jyothy”, Naidu, during an interaction with his close confidants, expressed displeasure over his brother-in-law’s attitude. He lamented that at a time when the party is facing multiple challenges it was unbecoming on the part of Harikrishna to create fresh trouble over non-issues.