4. What Naidu’s arrest means for TDP ahead of 2024 polls

| Sep 10, 2023, 23:23 IST

A bandh call

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has called for a statewide bandh today in protest against the arrest of its party chief and former Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu in connection with a case of alleged misappropriation of government funds.

14-day judicial remand

A Vijayawada court on Sunday remanded Naidu in judicial custody for 14 days, following which he is being taken amid tight security to Rajamahendravaram Central Prison, 200 km away from Vijayawada.

The arrest

In a pre-dawn operation on Saturday at Nandyal, Naidu was arrested in connection with a fraud case involving misappropriation of funds from the Skill Development Corporation, leading to a loss of Rs 300 crore to the state government, state CID chief N Sanjay said.

A few firsts

This is for the first time Andhra Pradesh has witnessed the arrest of a former chief minister.
This is also the first time that Naidu has been arrested on corruption charges in his political career spanning over 40 years.
Analysts said the development could leave a dent on the clean image of the party projected by Naidu’s supporters.

Political implications

The arrest comes just months before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls when political temperatures are soaring and at a time when the TDP is struggling to return to power in the state while trying to project Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh, who is on a marathon statewide foot march, as the future leader of the party.
TDP and Jana Sena have dropped enough hints that both parties may go for a pre-poll alliance. However, the BJP, which is in alliance with the Jana Sena in AP, is tight-lipped about the pact with the TDP. Watch here

Voices of support

Words of support for Naidu poured in from several quarters. Condemning his arrest, CPI Andhra Pradesh secretary Ramakrishna alleged that the state has become the nerve centre for revenge politics after YS Jagan Mohan Reddy became chief minister.
Sridhar Vembu, the chief executive of Global technology company Zoho, also expressed shock. “I know him and he worked so hard to bring so many companies, including Zoho, to Andhra Pradesh. I hope justice prevails,” he wrote on X.

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