Force pyramid aids Chandrababu Naidu in ‘poll vault’

Hyderabad: Tech-savy Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is currently on a whirlwind election tour in Seemandhra, has evolved a system within the party to monitor the situation and to address issues almost on an hourly basis.

Mr Naidu has made it a point to interact with five party leaders every day after concluding his day’s electioneering, to take stock of the situation and initiate corrective measures by the next day.

A 900-strong contingent of “techies”, who have been entrusted with getting real-time information working 24x7 in all the 175 Assembly segments, will pass on the required information to their respective “pyramid level” in-charge, who in turn will check the information with constituency-level leaders deputed for the purpose, besides sharing the information with other in-charges.

The 65-year-old TD president, who is facing the most crucial election of his political life, after two successive defeats, in 2004 and 2009, is spending almost sleepless nights to ensure that the campaign proceeds along the right lines.

The “pyramid level” management system he has put in place almost resembles the functioning of the Intelligence Bureau of the Central government — in fact, it even has the equivalent of covert operatives, who find out the strategies that rival parties are adopting, and also “shadow” teams to follow other party candidates as they campaign.

The TD’s own candidates are also being monitored. Teams have been deputed to keep tabs on whether party candidates are campaigning on issues suggested by the party, whether a candidate is spending party funds properly, what are the weaknesses the party is suffering from and how to overcome them.

Mr Naidu sits at the top of the pyramid. Below him are five of his close associates — Rajya Sabha members Sujana Chowdary (Krishna, Prakasam), Garikapati Rammohan Rao (East, West Godavari and Guntur), C M Ramesh (Anantapur, Kadapa and Kurnool districts), P. Narayana of Narayana Educational Institutions (Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam), and former MP Kambhampati Ram Mohan Rao (Chittoor and Nellore).

Telugu Desam cadres on the job

Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu interacts with five of his close associates daily between 11 pm and 3 am. He passes on key issues, he wants them to focus on and takes up other issues during his constituency-wise reviews, based on inputs he receives from workers in the field. All the five in-charges must inform him of what steps they have initiated during the day.

One of the in-charges, C M Ramesh, MP, said, “Apart from the 900-strong contingent of the party, I have employed another 100 boys, which includes district and constituency level managers, to report to me in all the three districts I am in charge of, and to check and counter-check the information I receive from the pyramid system. There is no complacency now. We are working hard and we expect the results to be most encouraging this time.”