After TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s arrest last year September 9, 2023 in Skill Development Scam by APCID and lodged him in Rajahmundry jail, few months ahead of general elections, many felt that it would be his political fallout.
Many political pundits predicted that it was a `master stroke’ by chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy to stabilize his authority of power and prevent Naidu from challenging him in the next elections. It was also discussed that at 73, possibly he was staring at the end of his political career.
Even Naidu was seen in a desperate mood when he appeared at a rally in Kurnool, where he made an emotional appeal to the people. “If you send me (and my party) to the Assembly, only then will Andhra Pradesh see development. Else, this will be my last election,” he said.
But surprising everybody, he has has managed to effect a stunning turnaround of fortunes, winning 135 of the 144 seats to come back as CM for the fourth time, while his allies —Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena and BJP have added 29 more seats, reducing the YSRCP to 11. It has proved that Naidu was down, but never out.
TDP leaders recalls that even after the crushing defeat of 2019, Naidu went into a huddle with his advisors and came up with a three-pronged fightback strategy that was “cadre-centric, party-centric and leader-centric”.Though the cadre was demotivated, he Naidu ensured he and the party were emotionally connected with the cadre through regular meetings and interactions.
Moreover, his tack of pursuing opportunities from crisis helped him to reach people more often not by his efforts, but of misadventures of Jaganmohan Reddy. He found a “golden chance” when Jagan ordered the demolition of the Praja Vedika, a cluster of 50-odd buildings along the banks of the Krishna river in Guntur and scrapped the Amaravati capital development project, as such acts were not appreciated by hard-core YCP supporters also.
A senior TDP leader said Naidu’s hands-on approach helped him sense the anger among people towards the YSRCP government. The ‘Enti Mana Karma’ (what’s our fate) campaign, which targeted Jagan on his alleged atrocities, was reportedly Naidu’s brainchild. “So was the selfie campaign, when he posted a picture of him taking a selfie at a long-pending, under-construction bridge,” the leader added.
