Chandrababu holds three-day party convention in Tirupati

Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), May 27: The three-day "Mahanadu" (Mega Convention) of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will be held in the temple city here beginning Friday on the backdrop of supposed dissatisfaction of state Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for not getting the state recognised as a special category state.

The three-day conclave also comes amid efforts being made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to strengthen its fledgling state units in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Naidu will address the inaugural function at Nehru Municipal High School grounds.

All senior leaders, ministers, members of parliament, MLAs, MLCs and other top functionaries of the party from Andhra Pradesh as well as newly created Telangana would participate in the meeting.

The Mahanadu is being organised as three-day Cadre Festival on May 27, 28 and 29. The occasion also coincides with the birth anniversary of N T Rama Rao, founder of TDP and former chief minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.

"This year's Cadre Festival is especially significant in the context of Andhra Pradesh government sustaining pressure on the centre for designating the state as a special category state," a party source told IANS here.

In fact, on 17th May, Naidu, whose party is a partner in the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), had submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tried to revive his demand for Special Category Status and other assistance from the central government again.

"In recent times, especially with the recent announcements that Andhra Pradesh may not be granted Special Category Status, an impression has been created that the assistance provided by the central government has been modest, which is not commensurate with the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, commitments in the Parliament, and the development assistance required by the State," Chief Minister Naidu wrote in his missive to the prime minister.

According to sources, the party convention would also discuss about issues like grant for bridging the resource gap relating to 2014-15 financial year; Polavaram National Irrigation Project; financial assistance from centre to the new capital city, Amaravati; incentives for industrial development; issues concerning development of Rayalaseema and north coastal districts and adequate investments for economic progress and railway zone at Visakhapatnam.

There are also talks in the party for projecting Naidu's son Nara Lokesh as the next generation leader of the party and the future inheritor of the legacy of his father Chandrababu and grandfather N T Rama Rao.

IANS