Mahanadu Revitalises TD Cadre, Infuses Fresh Energy Ahead of Assembly Polls

Kakinada: Telugu Desam’s annual Mahanadu that concluded here on Monday night with a huge show of strength at a public rally has injected a new dose of energy into the party’s cadres and leaders.

The TD that lay low after the surprise victory of the YSR Congress in the 2019 elections in AP, is seeking to fight the 2016 assembly polls with a resolve to unseat the YSRC and wrest power in the state.

Lakhs of people attended the Mahanadu rally at Vemagiri near Rajamahendravaram. The speeches of top party leaders Chandrababu Naidu, Nara Lokesh, N. Balakrishna and K. Archannaidu, among others, re-energised the cadre.

“We are now confident of taking on the YSRC in the Assembly elections. But we want good leadership to face the rival cadre in the villages. So far, our leaders kept silent, expecting an anti-YSRC wave. The Mahanadu seems to have prompted a wave in favour of the TD,” party activists claimed.

D. Pedakasiyya of Kondapi constituency in Prakasam district said he has been with the TD since 1982. After the 2014-19 period, the mood turned against TD and its chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu. Jagan Mohan Reddy took power in the 2019 elections, which disappointed the TD’s rank and file. Now, a pro-Chandrababu Naidu wave is likely, he said.

R. Ranemma of Nellore district said though the YSRC government was implementing several welfare schemes, the people are unable to bear the rise in prices of essentials like edible oils, petrol, diesel and gas prices. She said the liquor policy of the YSRC government too did not find favour with many.

A. Veerraju of Pithapuram of Kakinada district said the Mahanadu proved the winds are in favour of the TD.

Peddapuram MLA Nimmakayala Chinarajappa said the party expected 15,000 volunteers to attend the rally, but 1 lakh of the party cadre participated in Mahanadu meet on its first day. On the second day, more than 10 lakh TD supporters attended the public meeting, he claimed.

The Telugu Desam welfare wing convener and TD organising secretary Sistla Lohit claimed nearly 15 lakh people attended the meeting even as many could not reach the venue due to traffic jams. TD’s win in the next assembly elections is for sure, he said.

But many of those who attended the mega rally did not give much credence to the big promises party chief Chandrababu Naidu made to various sections of the people by way of a pre-election build-up for the party.  They said that they have less faith in such promises as Naidu as CM had not implemented the promises he made in the TD’s 2014 poll manifesto.

“It is not a question of whether a manifesto is good or not or whether it can be implemented or not. If there is a sympathy wave in favour of TD, it can win the elections without a manifesto too,’’ said a Telugu Desam activist.