Choices Surprise As TD Appoints Party Presidents for Godavari Districts
Appointments reflect community representation and strategic leadership choices
Kakinada: Defying expectations, Telugu Desam has appointed parliamentary party presidents to the five Godavari districts of Kakinada, Konaseema, Eluru, East and West Godavari.
In the exercise, two posts have gone to the Kapu community and one each to Kshatriya, Settibalija and Kamma leaders.
The party, setting aside expectations of a change, chose to retain Jyothula Naveen Kumar of Kapu community as president of the Kakinada district. It is said Naveen’s father and Jaggampeta MLA Jyothula Venkata Appa Rao has played a role in the decision.
There had been an impression that during the assembly elections in 2024, Jyothula Naveen had not shown much interest in the overall party affairs but confined himself only to the Jaggampeta constituency to strengthen his hold.
In Konaseema district, the present president, Reddy Ananta Kumari, has been shifted and appointed as chairperson of the Andhra Pradesh Backward Classes Cooperative Financial Corporation. Guttula Sai has replaced her as president of the Konaseema parliamentary party. Guthula Sai, an active worker of YSRC, shifted to TDP before the 2019 elections. Sai belongs to Mummidivaram constituency and has a strong hold within his Settibalija community.
In East Godavari District, Rajamahendravaram Urban Development Authority (RUDA) chairman Boddu Venkata Ramana Chowdary has been appointed as the president. He is the son of the former TD leader and MLA Boddu Bhaskara Rama Rao. He contested from Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha constituency on behalf of YSRC in 2014. Cine actor Murali Mohan defeated him at the time. He later joined the Telugu Desam and acted as the Rajanagaram assembly constituency. He had been hoping for the Rajanagaram assembly ticket in 2024. But the seat went to the NDA alliance partner Jana Sena.
Former Undi MLA and APIIC chairman Manthena Rama Raju has been appointed the chairman of the West Godavari party. Rama Raju has been denied ticket in 2024 as the TD high command chose to give the ticket to K. Raghu Ramakrishnam Raju, who had shifted to the TDP from the YSRC.
Eluru MLA Badeti Radhakrishna of the Kapu community has been appointed as the Eluru district parliamentary party president in the place of former Ungutur MLA Ganni Veeranjaneyulu, who has been appointed as the chairman of Andhra Pradesh Cooperative Bank (APCOB). Veeranjaneyulu, of the Kamma community, is a senior TD leader.
Compared to other MLAs Dasari Syam Sundar, Seelam Venkateswara Rao or Ganni Veeranjaneyulu, Badeti Radhakrishna is a junior. Yet the TD high command preferred Radhakrishna as the party president.
