Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran/File)
Strategy for 2019 elections, Special Category Status, performance of the government, legislators and MPs and countering the threat from YSR Congress Party will be discussed at the three-day annual conclave ‘Mahanadu’ of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which is scheduled to be held at Siddhartha Engineering College ground on the outskirts of Vijayawada on Sunday.
Over 20,000 party members including district leaders, MLAs, MLCs and MPs will be attending the meet, which is happening during the election year. The Vijayawada City Police has enforced traffic diversions as party workers started arriving on Saturday. Vijayawada has been painted yellow, the colour of TDP, with thousands of flags, cutouts of leaders and flex boards put up everywhere. Chief Minister and TDP National President N Chandrababu Naidu and his son N Lokesh Naidu, the IT Minister, will lead the meet.
“The party will decide the course of action for the upcoming elections. Many other important issues like Special Category Status and breaking of alliance with BJP would be discussed at the meet,’’ TDP AP President K Kalaventaka Rao said. After breaking alliance with the BJP, the TDP wants to make a big splash by making this conclave a huge success and no stone is being left unturned for this, party sources said. Apart from over 1,500 cops being assigned to provide security to the meet, over 500 volunteers from the TDP would be assisting police and the visitors to ensure that the conclave is held smoothly.
Elaborate seating arrangements with air-coolers to beat the sweltering heat are being made at the venue while huge kitchens have been started to dish out food for those attending the conclave.