Atchan Naidu To Become AP TDP President?

[Anta Assamey]

Media circles in AP are agog with speculations that TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has decided to revamp the entire state unit of the party to revitalise it in the coming days.

Naidu, who returned to Amaravati after a gap of nearly two months, has begun the exercise of strengthening the party at all levels.

He is said to be collecting the opinions from all senior leaders as to who should be there in the revamped party unit in Andhra Pradesh.

Apparently, majority of the party leaders have suggested that former minister and senior legislator from Tekkali Kinjarapu Atchan Naidu be made the party president of AP, in place of Kala Venkat Rao, who reportedly offered to step down after the party’s debacle in the last elections.

Most of the party leaders reportedly felt that Atchan Naidu, being relatively younger, would be suitable for the party because of his strong voice and fighting spirit.

Moreover, he is from Backward Classes from north coastal Andhra, where the TDP base is gradually eroding due to YSRC and BJP.

However, there are also other voices in the party that are not very happy with Atchanna’s choice. They say choosing another leader from the same Srikakulam district as the party president would send wrong signals to the cadres in other parts.

Moreover, Atchanna’s nephew K Rammohan Naidu has already been the party’s deputy leader in Lok Sabha and his sister Adireddy Bhavani is also an MLA. So, giving another big post to the member of the same family might not sound good for the TDP cadre.

Naidu is also said to be considering the names of Payyavula Kesav or Varla Ramaiah as the TDP’s state unit president.

At present, Naidu is busy constituting party committees at mandal, district and constituency-level committees of the TDP. Once it is done, he would focus on the party president post, sources said.