Kanumuri Bapiraju seeks to hold post till term’s end

Tirupati: It is going to be a longer wait for aspirants in the Telugu Desam who want the coveted post of chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. The current TTD chairman, veteran Congress MP Kanumuri Bapiraju, is trying his best to complete his full term, which ends on August 25.

Mr Bapiraju, who was made the TTD chairman by the Kiran Kumar Reddy-led government in 2011 for a year’s tenure, had got an extension for two more years after completing his first term. Now even as the Naidu-led government is gearing up to take over the reins of the state from June 8, the question doing the rounds is whether Mr Bapiraju will step down.

The TTD chairman said that he did not need to step down since his was not a political post. He said that he felt he had been successful during his stint as the TTD chairman and he believed that it would not be right on his part to step down from a post that was “godsend” to him. He added he would wait for the decision of the Naidu government, but would try to complete his tenure.