Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, will continue at the helm of the Telugu Desam Party for another term of two years.
Naidu, 65, was unanimously elected as the party President on Friday — the last day of party’s annual conference Mahanadu in Hyderabad.
Only his name was proposed as the leader of the party that he took over from his father-in-law and party founder N.T. Rama Rao through a family coup in 1995.
Soon after his election was announced by election committee convener Kala Venkat Rao, Naidu garlanded the portrait of NTR prominently placed on the sprawling dais.
Later the party leaders lined up to congratulate him and present him bouquets and shawls.
In his remarks, Naidu said he was dedicating his life to the welfare of the Telugu people and urged the party leaders and workers not to let down the people who had time and again reposed their faith in them.
“People have great hopes for us and each of us should work with dedication and sincerity”, he said.
“Our party is committed to the welfare of the Telugu people irrespective of where they live,” he said, referring to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
He said while providing a stable and results-oriented government in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP will also come back to power in Telangana.
Naidu said his government had brought hope and satisfaction to the poor and made thieves and smugglers lose their sleep.
“By taking strong action against the Red Sanders smugglers my government has saved Rs3,000 crore [Rs30 billion or Dh1.72 billion],” he said.
Lashing out at the Congress and the YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh he said while one had betrayed the state by bifurcating it, the other was a party drenched in corruption.
Mahanadu marked the plans of the regional TDP to turn in to a national party by contesting elections in more than one state.
Senior party leader Y. Ramakrishnudu, who moved the political resolution at Mahanadu said that there was no legal hurdle in TDP becoming a national party.
“Even if its becomes a national party, TDP will retain its name and bicycle as its symbol,” he said.
Stressing that the TDP was already strong in Telangana, Ramakrishnudu said that the party will now focus on other states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha to further strengthen itself and emerge as a national party.
The resolution adopted unanimously urged the central government to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh and provide a level playing field.
Referring to the demand for withdrawing TDP ministers from NDA government to pressurise Modi regime to give special status to AP, he said, “The opposition has no other work. They should change their attitude.”
