Summary
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu became the kingmaker in Indian politics with his regional party, T.D.P. And today, everyone calls him the kingmaker. Despite the setbacks, todayโs Naidu election raised hopes about the role of a very good alliance with the B.J.P.
Highlights
- As an astrologer said, Prime Minister Modi will have to run the government in alliance, and with Chandrababu Naiduโs support, this prediction came true.
- Chandrababu Naiduโs political career started as a student union leader, and today, everyone knows his name.
- Naidu became the Chief Minister by ousting his father-in-law from N.T.R.โs party, T.D.P., and made many political changes.
- In Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Naidu attracted investments, created I.T. hubs and made important changes.
- There were many challenges, including defeat in the 2019 elections. Naidu also lost the election due to corruption charges against him.
- But losing once does not mean losing forever and despite these setbacks, Naidu is today being called a kingmaker.
- Naiduโs strong alliance with the B.J.P. in this election has increased curiosity about his role.
Table of Contents
2024 Lok Sabha Kingmakerย Chandrababu Naidu
The year was 2014, former B.B.C. journalist and author Lance Price was visiting Seven Racecourse, now S Lolan Mark, soon after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Damodar Modi Price was going to write a book on him, yes, it was a Price, who was in the waiting room in the Prime Ministerโs official residence when suddenly a tall man in white robes with a tika on his forehead appeared from nowhere and made a strange prediction that Modi will be a great leader.
He said, but what he said next is the main point of this story: that the astrologer clearly predicted that while Modi will be in power till 2032 and will take only a short break in the opposition, there will be a period when he will have to run the government in coalition with other parties.
If that astrologer was right that the coalition period has just started and the main power is breathing life into number 3.0, is this man with his 16 M.P.s worldwide leadership crisis, at least India is giving very good leadership.
Why was Chandrababu Naidu jailed?
How Chandra Babu Naidu, who was jailed in a corruption case, emerged as the kingmaker in a country of 1.4 billion people. I am Manish Adhikari, and you are looking at the first thing. Things are different now. Chandra Baba Naidu was born on 20 April 1950 in a middle-class agricultural family in a village near Tirupati. He started his political journey as a student union leader in Tirupati.
He joined the Youth Congress in 1975 while pursuing postgraduate studies in economics at Venkateswara University, and after just three years, he was elected M.L.A. from Chandrai. Now, he had to leave his PhD program after becoming a minister at the age of 28. He became the youngest M.L.A. and the youngest minister of Andhra Pradesh by 1980. It was while being a minister that he caught the attention of Telugu cinema giant N.R.A., who was about to enter state politics in 1980.
On a much larger scale, the same year Chandra Babu married N.T.R.โs other daughter, Baneswari Chandra Babu Naidu would serve as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh between 1995 to 2004 and from 2014 to 2019, when he became the first Chief Minister of divided Andhra after the new state of Telangana was carved out. Still, the story of his rise within the T.D.P. is incredible, and some would say even then, it was full of intrigue; let me give you a brief refresher; let me take you back once again to 1980; remember how he married N.T.R.โs daughter.
That year, yes, he was still with the Congress. Now, three years later, it is 1983, and he loses this election as a Congress candidate, in which his father-in-lawโs newly formed Telugu Desam party draws a draw. What does Chandra Babu do? Within a few months of losing, he makes the first political change of his life, leaving Congress and joining his father-in-lawโs new party.
The party is not a new party. It has 40 years of history and 42 years of history. Now, this is where it all starts. N.T.R. formed a council to deal with agricultural issues. Chandra Babu was made the head of that council. He asked Chandra Babu to conduct training camps and computerize the party membership records. This was just the beginning.
In 1984, N.T.R. had to go to the U.S. for heart surgery, and suddenly, the governor removed him. Remember, Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, and it was not uncommon for non-Congress state governments to be toppled. N.T.R. comes back and finds that he cannot take charge despite having the majority of M.L.A.s on his side. So what does he do?
He goes on tour, gathers M.L.A.s and even takes help from Karnataka CM Ram Krishna Haig. That is another unbelievable story for another day. Fast forward a bit, and N.T.R. makes a dramatic comeback during this chaos next year. Chandra Babu was involved in this whole episode. Strategizing and monitoring the moves to get N.T.R. back to the CM chair, and he executed it. Then came 1994, and Chandrababu became the Finance Minister in N.T.R.โs cabinet, but by August 95, he staged an internal coup by expelling his father-in-law from the party.
He said he wanted to focus on and develop Andhra Pradesh. My leaders, I, and our Telugu party contributed to nation-building. Chandra Babu brought about major changes as Chief Minister. He introduced e-governance E.A.V. and the Citizen Charter for government services. He had an ambitious Vision 2020 plan for the development of the state.
Hyderabad was already famous for pearls and biryani. It became an I.T. hub during his tenure. Big names like Microsoft W.H.P. Pro and Google opened their shops here. People used to call him the C.E.O. of the state. He was a very hard worker and taskmaster. He got international recognition and was a regular at the World Economic Forum.
However, several years of drought caused massive destruction in rural areas, causing many farmers to suffer and even commit suicide. This led to his downfall, and he was ousted from the T.D.P. in 2004. He faced political challenges from K Chandrasekhar Rao of the T.D.P. for launching the Telangana movement in 2009, demanding a separate state.
Chandra Babu had almost defeated Congress, but Chanโs new Praja Party snatched votes and kept YS Rajashekhar Reddy in power. Till 2014, many believed that T.D.P. had no option against Jagan Mohan RI-led Y.S.R. Congress, but a Congress-led government at the centre divided the state and created Telangana. This unexpected turn proved to be a boon for Chandra Babu. People saw him as an experienced leader who could transform the new Andhra Pradesh.
So, in the 2014 elections, he joined hands with Narendra Modiโs B.J.P. and Pan Kalanโs Zana and won 16 lo S.A.A. seats from 2014 to 2019. Without capital and economic hub, Chandra Babu started building a new capital, called Amaravati; his supporters will remind you that under him, Andhra Pradesh topped the World Bankโs ease of doing business ranking and attracted major companies like Kia Motors Isuzu Pepsi Melas and Fox Conn. Still, there were also allegations of corruption and Telangana T.D.P. leaders were caught on video offering bribes during the 2015 Telangana Legislative Council elections.
That led to the infamous cash for vote scandal, though there was not enough evidence to convict Chandra Babu was convicted on corruption charges in 2018. T.D.P. had pulled out of Modiโs N.D.A. over the issue of special category status for Andhra Pradesh, claiming that injustice had been done to his state. Chandra Babu had also gone on a hunger strike in Delhi. Then, in a surprise move, he allied with the Congress for the Telangana Assembly elections, a significant shift from N.T.R.โs anti-Congress stance.
However, this alliance failed to oust the T.R.S. from Telangana, affecting Chandra Babuโs credibility in the 2019 elections. 07:06 The T.D.P. was defeated by the Y.S.R. Congress, which won a landslide victory. The T.D.P. may win only 23 Assembly seats and just three LoA seats in September 2023. CM Jagan Mohan Reddy arrested Chandra Babu on charges of misappropriation of public funds worth Rs 371 crore.
He spent 52 days in jail but was eventually acquitted of all charges. The incident earned Chandra Babu a lot of sympathy from voters. Meanwhile, CM Jagan Mohan Reddy came to be seen as arrogant and overly dependent on social welfare schemes. Critics also said that he was trying to derail the stateโs economy. Chandrababu was set to ride the anti-incumbency wave once again, this time not with the Congress but with the B.J.P. and his old partner Panneerselvamโs Jannayak Party. He had chosen the perfect time for it.
He would have returned to the state with a landslide victory in 2024, but many Indians were also keeping a close eye on his next move in New Delhi. He was now tasked with helping Modiโs B.J.P. form a government for the third time, this time with the help of alliance partners like him. This Indian Express report lists those occasions.
When Chandrababu Naidu played the role of kingmaker In 1996, Naidu, as the convenor of the United Front, helped H.D. Deora become prime minister with the help of the Congress. He was also credited with helping IK Gujral become prime minister in 1999 with 29 M.P.s, the report said. He was Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayeeโs biggest ally, though he did not join the government in 2024. Once again, B.J.P. emerged as the biggest ally of N.D.A., and many people were calling it kingmaker. Once again, this is a big thing.
Conclusion
The story of statesman Chandra Babu Naidu is proof of his influence and resilience. For example, the development of technology in Andhra Pradesh has led to advancements in both agriculture and life sciences. The legacy is still evolving, showing the dynamics of Indiaโs political arena while handling the complexities of coalition government.
