Politics

How TDP needs to revive Chandrababu Naidu’s image for GenZ

“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This quote from the Batman movie means “standing up for something that you believe in and defending it to the death.” For an efficient human being who follows certain ethics, values and discipline in life, it gets difficult to deal with those who have no principles in life. This happens because there is a constant conflict in the mind which stops you from stooping to a level which you cannot fall to, simply because of your ethics and the strength of your character. 

Well, this applies in the case of former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief, Nara Chandrababu Naidu. As a man of principles who is true to his work and values he strongly believes in, it is challenging to beat propaganda that uses “below the belt” strategies and attacks anybody’s personal life. Despite going through a mauled attack on his character, his wife’s and his own family’s, Chandrababu Naidu has been a tall figure in India’s political scenario. 

From creating exemplary leadership for Andhra Pradesh (before and after bifurcation), he has not only inspired the world to look at a South Indian state but also has bolstered successful international relations with other countries and carried India’s crown forward as a hot investment destination. 

From being the tech-savvy Chief Minister who introduced eGovernance and made state government’s accountable to its people to being the one to usher in IT giants and show India as a favorable business destination, his work has done wonders for India, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. But there is a gap in identifying what he is capable of, as a leader and statesman. 

Populate every digital medium that GenZ is on

The current generation of youngsters are disconnected and unaware of his work for modern India. What this means is an opportunity for the Telugu Desam Party to connect with GenZ and millennials on various digital media platforms and bombard these channels (Tik Tok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Medium, LinkedIn & Pinterest) with information and engaging content on his work for India and Andhra Pradesh. 

From being the son of a farmer to the one who rose as a student leader to become the Chief Minister of a State and also heading several initiatives for the Government of India, his story is exceptional at every level. As someone who introduced training and skill development for party leaders, he brought structure into Telugu Desam Party under Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao’s leadership. 

Party revamp & organization

For him, being prepared has many meanings, depending upon the situation. It included holding preparatory conversations, reviewing materials and news sources. Naidu gave a shape to the party structure and trained the cadre with Telugu Desam ideology two years after it was formed. He felt that a committed cadre was necessary to translate NTR’s vision into political reality. 

This was when everyone in the party was witnessing Naidu’s interest in generating a lot of data on various subjects. He prepared formats to monitor the work done by the office bearers at different levels of the Party in various districts. Throughout the period between 1989 and 1994, Naidu was seen as  the backroom strategist in the party as it proved to be an adverse time  for NTR who lost elections in both the terms. Given his authoritarian nature, he couldn’t come to terms with his loss even as Naidu began winning people within the party and took charge of keeping it together. 

Taking all of this and his governance for India during Vajpayee’s Prime Ministership and following bifurcation in Andhra Pradesh, he has shown India how commitment to leadership can improve the future of a generation and their family’s financial profiles. All of this points to how the TDP needs to revive Chandrababu Naidu’s image as a savvy leader who can give youth more jobs, change their future and help them dream big. For that, they need to exploit every platform and portray Chandrababu Naidu as a leader in the language that GenZ understands. 

Let us hope that Andhra Pradesh will see revival of Chandrababu Naidu’s image amidst a juggernaut of negative propaganda, demolishing his image and leadership that is in a way responsible for how India has grown today to become the IT powerhouse for the world!  

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Tejaswini Pagadala

Communications Consultant: TEJASWINI PAGADALA is an independent communications consultant. She has previously worked with the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office as the Communications Officer where she has written English speeches for the CM, managed English media communication from the CMO and handled social media accounts of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and the Government.
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