Does Bhuvaneshwari Want 'Signature Stamp' On TDP?

In Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu’s wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari appears to be evincing  interest in playing an active role in the day-to-day affairs of the party.

This is in complete departure of the once-trumpeted stand of Chandrababu Naidu that his family members did not interfere with the party, politics and governance (when the party was in power).

He was true ten years ago. Certainly Bhuvaneshwari played an exemplary role as the wife of Naidu staying miles away from politics as well as government. Their son Lokesh just then crossed the threshold of adolescence by the time Naidu lost power.

But now the father, the mother, the son and the daughter-in-law are all participating in the party activities. When Naidu undertook a hunger strike, all the four showed up on the same dais. Ever since Naidu embarked on the Vastunna Mee Kosam padayatra, Lokesh began to shoulder the responsibility at the apex level. Surely, the political toddler is now clearly the Trainee President of the TDP.

Dawning the role of the queen is Bhuvaneshwari who is now overseeing the party matters with the remote guidance of her dexterous husband.

Bhavaneshwari, who called on the fasting party legislators at the hospital and offered them lime juice to end their fast last week, visited NTR Trust Bhavan to append her signature on the Telugu Desam’s signature campaign against the state government’s decision to hike power tariff on Saturday.

With this, another daughter of late N T Rama Rao is slowly getting into politics. Her elder sister Daggubati Purandeshwari has been a two time MP from Congress and is a Union Minister at present.

While Y S Rajasekhar Reddy family members are waging a battle against the Congress only after the arrest of the party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy more than 10 months ago, Chandrababu Naidu has decided to involve his wife, son Lokesh and brother-in-law Nandamuri Balakrishna in the party matters while taking every care so as to keep the other family members of Telugu Desam founder late N T Rama Rao under check.

Plans are also underway by Chandrababu Naidu to anoint Lokesh as Telugu Yuvatha president after his padayatra which will conclude on April 27. The decision is most likely to be announced during party’s Mahanadu celebrations at the end of May to enable him to tour  across the length and breadth of the state in June.

Lokesh has already started eliciting information from various sources including his journalist friends about the party’s condition.

On the other hand, the family members of late NTR have been maintaining a strategic silence and giving a long rope to Chandrababu Naidu to lead the party in the next elections. If the party fails to regain power, that will spell trouble and may be end of the road for Naidu.