Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu was known in the past as a man of organisational skills.
It is true to a large extent, as it the TDP had grown into a strong political party since its inception in 1982, only after Naidu entered the party.
Though the party was banking on the image and charisma of its founder and legendary actor N T Rama Rao, it was Naidu who was responsible for building the party from grassroots level to the state level.
Even now, the TDP is considered to be one of the strong regional parties down south, but after the party’s recent debacle in the elections, there are strong indications that the party is disintegrating gradually with several leaders resigning from the party and the cadre turning clueless as to what is happening in the party.
And the blame has to go to none other than Naidu himself. If he was responsible for building the party at all levels, he is also responsible for the sorry state of affairs in the party now.
There was a talk in the past that Naidu had tremendous control over the party and he used to recognise even the grassroots party activists and call them by names, whenever he visited villages.
But such a situation is no more prevailing in the party now. During his five-year rule in the residuary Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2019, Naidu focussed on the government and completely ignored the party.
As a result, he lost touch with the ground realities and left the party completely in lurch. By the time he realised, the damage was done.
Another main reason for the present state of affairs in the TDP is that Naidu doesn’t have the human touch with his party leaders.
“He doesn’t believe anybody and so, he doesn’t allow anybody to get closer to him. Nobody in the party feels friendly with Naidu, let alone like a family member. The kind of affection and intimacy displayed by Y S Rajasekhar Reddy towards his party leaders is not visible in Naidu, who behaves like a pucca politician. That is why nobody sympathised with him, when he lost power,” a party leader said.
Most of the seniors like Karanam Balaram, Kadiri Babu Rao or P Ramasubba Reddy had been associated with the TDP not because of their respect for Naidu, but because of the party’s strength.
“Once they realised that the party is disintegrating and Naidu has lost the power to resurrect it, they have started deserting the party,” an analyst said.
As a result, there is nobody to fight when the party is going through a tough phase – whether it is with regard to Amaravati capital issue or local body elections.
And Naidu alone is forced to come on streets and fight to save the party singlehandedly!
