Hyderabad, May 31: Telugu Desam Party’s 30th annual conference ‘Mahanadu’ was dominated more than anything else by family drama and tussle between the Nandamuri and the Nara branches of the NTR clan.
Though there has been some serious discussion on the political situation, and party president N Chandrababu Naidu tried to boost the confidence of the rank and file by talking of a bright and promising future, much to his chagrin the limelight was stolen by a sulking Nandamuri Harikrishna, his brother-in-law and NTR’s son.
The three-day conference attended by thousands of delegates from all over the State was from the beginning dogged by the alleged succession war between two young members of the family, N Lokesh Babu, Naidu’s son and film star NTR Junior, son of Harikrishna.
Though neither Lokesh nor NTR Junior was present in the Mahanadu, the appearance of their respective posters was enough to trigger speculation and whispers of a power struggle in the family.
Naidu tried his best to play down the issue by ticking off a group of party leaders from Chandragiri constituency in his home district of Chittoor for having passed a resolution demanding an important political role for Lokesh. But it proved to be insufficient in placating the mercurial Harikrishna. On the second day of the Mahanadu, when customary tributes were being paid to the party founder NTR on his birth anniversary, Harikrishna created a scene. He not only refused to speak on the resolution praising NTR but also made a threatening gesture towards senior TDP leader Y Ramakrishnudu, who repeatedly requested him to address the gathering.
Later in a huff, Harikrishna walked out of Mahanadu not to return again till the conference was over. Though Naidu avoided any direct public comment on the issue, he expressed his unhappiness with his troublesome brother-in-law before his close associates. “What is it that I have not done for him? I made him a Rajya Sabha member and gave him every utmost respect in the party,” Naidu said.
Naidu also sought to put out the fire of family feud by explaining that for him “family relationship was different from politics”. He also tried to scotch speculation that he was grooming a political successor. He said Lokesh was not inclined to take part in active politics and that his wife and son never interfered in politics.
“I know that family relations were important but they should not be mixed with politics,” he said.
Mahanadu-2011 will also be remembered for two other things. Firstly, after 16 long years Naidu spoke publicly for the first time on the infamous family coup he led against his father-in-law in 1995 and deposed him as the Chief Minister and the TDP president.
As if trying to buy peace with Nandamuri family, Naidu explained in his concluding address that he was forced to revolt to save the TDP from an evil force. He did not name anybody but it was obvious that he was referring to NTR’s second wife Lakshmi Parvathy.
He said that he always respected and admired NTR as a mentor but the circumstances forced him to save the party. He recalled that at the time all the 200 MLAs and the cadre of the party had supported him.
The other prominent point of discussion was the stand of the party on the vexed issue of Telangana State. Naidu continued his vague stand by insisting that it was for the Congress party and the Central Government to take a decision whether to form Telangana State or not. But what he or the party did not elaborate was whether they will support if the Central Government decides to form Telangana State.
——–Agencies