Politics | Chandrababu Naidu faces tough questions after defeat

The TDP, founded in 1982, under unusual circumstances had only two supreme leaders during its 37-year run. The party was founded by one of the most loved actors of South Indian cinema, N T Rama Rao (NTR). He occupied the Chief Minister’s chair in less than a year after entering politics, decimating the Congress with his “Telugu pride” slogan.

While in power, there was an internal coup which led to his ouster from chief ministership in 1984. But he regained power within a few months. In the next elections, the TDP had to face a rout. In 1994, NTR took oath as CM for the third time while he was the president of the party. This was also the beginning of the end of a chapter in the history of the party as his son-in-law, Chandrababu Naidu overthrew him and took over the reins of the party in less than a year.

Since then, the party has been under the complete control of Naidu. It is an irony that Naidu, who was also sworn-in as CM of AP three times -- two times in a united AP and once in the newly bifurcated state -- like NTR, is now facing existential issues.

The 69-year old Naidu never had to taste defeat on this scale. If his son’s and his performance has to be assessed, then it is nothing less than shocking. For 30 years, Naidu has been contesting from Kuppam Assembly constituency successfully, winning one election after the other with huge margins. Perhaps, for the first time, Naidu was seen trailing in the initial rounds.

One would be mistaken in thinking this is the result of a fierce opponent or well-planned strategy of the YSRCP. A former IAS officer, who took on Naidu on YSRCP ticket, was absent during the entire period of campaigning and did not even step into the constituency as he was hospitalised due to ill health. The opposition campaign was lacklustre. Even then, Naidu could win with a majority of 29,000 votes, a far cry from the margins he registered earlier.

His son, Nara Lokesh, who was a minister in Naidu’s Cabinet, lost his first election in the Amaravati capital area, a prestigious project of the TDP government. Naidu tried to project him as his heir, but the defeat comes as a setback. This has cast a doubt on his capacity to lead the party and acceptance among the cadre in future. The 36-year old is already mocked on social media for slip-ups and factual errors.

That apart, he has been accused of large-scale corruption by opposition party leaders. Naidu’s position as the undisputed leader of the party has somewhat weakened after the TDP lost to the YSRCP by a huge difference of about 10 percent vote share. Most of his Cabinet ministers and young successors faced humiliating defeats in their respective seats. Who has to take the blame?

Naidu, of course.

In previous terms, a younger Naidu had a mix of old and young party leaders with distinct personalities and good oratory skills. However, in this term, it looked like Naidu made a conscious effort to neutralise power centres and elevate lesser-known or inexperienced members. It can be said that the TDP looked like a weak party with a very strong leader.

The main reason is that he wanted to ensure he and Lokesh become central figures of the party. In this year’s election campaign, it looked like TDP’s star campaigner was Naidu and no one else.

But when the results did not go in his favour, Naidu’s image as a winning horse has lost steam. His credibility is at an all-time low for frequently changing his stand on various political issues and also his opportunistic tie-ups with national and regional parties. He miserably lost two assembly elections – AP and Telangana -- in the past six months.

Many of the party sympathisers and hardcore admirers of NTR have already started distancing themselves from the party, not able to digest the fact that Naidu tried to join hands with the Congress, the reason why NTR started the party in the first place.

In which direction is the party headed? Can the party cadre and leaders energise themselves under the leadership of a burnt-out leader and an inexperienced successor who is yet to prove himself? Or, is there a split in store if rumours of NTR family members consolidating and preparing for an assault are true?

There is a question mark on Naidu’s future. After serving as a three-time CM and branding himself as an effective opponent of Narendra Modi on the Delhi stage, can he quietly go about his business as the leader of the opposition in the AP assembly? Most importantly, can he withstand and fight bigger political rivals after losing power, especially the ones like Modi?

Answers are awaited.

(Devulapalli is a Hyderabad-based senior journalist. Views expressed are personal.)