Who is Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s successor in the Telugu Desam Party? He simply said succession inheritance is a myth. Though it gives some advantage to enter into the field, he made it clear referring to his son Nara Lokesh, one has to excel himself
He faced this question from India Today’s correspondence in Davos. This question came two days after Minister for Industries TG Bharath declared that `Nara Lokesh will be our future Chief Minister’ and immediately Chandrababu pushed him back.
“Is Lokesh your successor? If he is the successor, when will he hand over the reins of the party?”, this was the question the Chief Minister faced. But, skilfully without giving a direct response, he repeated what he had said in the past.
“In any field, whether it is business, films, politics, family, inheritance is a myth. If one generation excels in the field of business and earns well, the next generation can lose it. In our country, the parties that were once strong have disappeared later. Inheritance alone does not sustain everything”, he added.
However, he admitted that it brings some better opportunities. But, he said the question is important how they are received? He made it clear that only if they are received in the right manner can they excel.
“I have never relied on politics for my livelihood. I started a family business 33 years ago. My family members have been running it. It would have been very easy for Lokesh to continue in the same business. But he entered politics with the idea of serving the people. He is getting satisfaction from that. There is no legacy in it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu also in a way refuted speculations that he is going to join the Central government to pave way for Lokesh in the state. He clarified that he has no intention of joining the Centre and will stay in the state.
It seems the Chief Minister chose to give clarity to the party cadre and also leaders, who have been rallying around Lokesh seeking him to elevate as Deputy Chief Minister. He has expressed the opinion that Lokesh should become the heir only through talent and performance, and his son cannot be the heir for the sole reason that he is the heir.
There have been discussions on succession in the TDP in the past too. When NTR was the Chief Minister, he and his son Balakrishna participated in the 1987 Mandal Parishad election campaign. Both of them had huge crowds. With that joy, he announced Balakrishna as his political heir in a meeting in the joint Chittoor district.
But after returning to Hyderabad, he changed his mind with the advice of party senior leaders. He told the media that he had not made any such announcement. It is noteworthy that the TDP candidate lost the election held where he made the announcement.
Also, before the 2014 elections, Nandamuri Harikrishna raised the debate about the succession in their family. He put strong pressure on Chandrababu to declare his son Junior NTR as the political heir. But Chandrababu did not agree to make such an announcement. Now, unexpectedly, the same debate has started again in the TDP. But it cooled down when Chandrababu blocked it at the beginning.
