Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday announced his son and state IT Minister Nara Lokesh as the party’s working president, according to a statement.
This is the first time in the party’s 44 years of existence that it has a working president. “Till now, Lokesh has been working as the party’s national general secretary, though he has been effectively controlling the affairs of the party since his return to power in the state in June 2024,” a party official said, requesting anonymity.
Naidu also announced the renewal of the 29-member Politburo, 31-member National Commission and 185-member State Commission.
As part of the restructuring, Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu to the post of National General Secretary along with MP Bairidhi Shabari and senior leader Rajesh Kilaru, a close associate of Lokesh.
Bala Srinivas Rao will continue as president of the Andhra Pradesh unit of the party, while Naidu’s son-in-law and actor Nandamuri Balakrishna has been retained as a member of the politburo.
According to the party’s statement, the new committees were formed with a focus on balancing experience and new leadership, while also taking into account social representation.
“Naidu personally supervised the restructuring process and carefully weighed the political, social and regional equations,” the party official mentioned above said.
The reconstituted national committee of the TDP includes three general secretaries, 18 vice-presidents and 10 spokespersons. The State Commission has seven general secretaries, 16 vice-chairmen, 14 spokespersons, 10 district coordinators, 50 executive secretaries and 77 secretaries.
Of the 185 state committee members, 50 are women, while also ensuring significant representation in the Politburo and national committees. Likewise, 122 members belong to disadvantaged sections, including 77 other backward classes, 25 scheduled castes, seven scheduled tribes and 13 minorities.
