Nara Lokesh’s Kadapa visit lifts TDP cadre; Reddy community eyes Rajya Sabha seat
HRD Minister and TDP Working President Nara Lokesh greeted the party leaders and workers during his recent visit to Kadapa district. File | Photo Credit: Special Editing
The recent two-day visit of HRD Minister Nara Lokesh, the first minister after his elevation as the Working President of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), has rejuvenated the party cadre in Kadapa district, which was once considered the bastion of the Congress and later the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
The TDP took a duck in the 2019 general elections and went to great lengths to win seven of the 10 Assembly seats in the undivided Kadapa district in 2024, giving the party a much-needed boost in the heartland of Rayalaseema.
Even the YSRCP was reduced to a minimum of three seats in the district, which included Pulivendula represented by party chief and former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Similarly, TDP lost the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat due to a three-way fight in the constituency involving APCC president YS Sharmila. TDP Political Bureau member and then district president Reddeppagari Srinivasa Reddy, who was waiting for the party ticket, had to step back at the last minute as per the party’s instructions.
unrepresented community
The massive victory of the TDP-led NDA Alliance in 2024 could not have happened if the dominant Reddy community in Rayalaseema had not chosen to go with the TDP. Mr. Lokesh’s last visit to the politically sensitive region, which took place two years after the party came to power, was marked by a number of development projects, but the expectations of the leaders and cadres are far from being met.
With the Election Commission announcing its schedule for nomination of four Rajya Sabha seats from Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema’s Reddy community, which remained unrepresented for decades when the TDP was in power, is expecting a breakthrough this time.
It may be recalled that TDP had provided several opportunities to C. Ramachandraiah, who hails from the Kapu people of Kadapa district, in the past. Therefore, Reddy leaders of the district pinned their hopes on Mr. Lokesh’s visit to Kadapa and made the two-day visit a huge success.
It was published – 24 May 2026 17:50 IST
