Tejaswini Pagadala - Indias Glocal Leader: Chandrababu Naidu

Indias Glocal Leader

Chandrababu Naidu

INDIAS

Glocal Leader

Chandrababu Naidu

Tejaswini Pagadala

First published in India 2018

2018 by Tejaswini Pagadala

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Do not wait for something big to happen. Start where you
are, with whatever you have Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

This book is dedicated to my father, Jagadish Babu
and mother, Sri Latha.

CONTENTS

I n the political space, we often form an image of people we have never interacted with, based on the rumours and news about them. Our image of a person (based on the propaganda) is what defines that person for us. We are not necessarily right about this every time. As it often happens with public figures, a stereotype image has also been formed of Nara Chandrababu Naidu in the last 40 years. But, he is much more complex, and this book offers interesting insights of him through the various phases of life.

It is precisely 40 years of Nara Chandrababu Naidus entry into politics and 68 since his birth, but so far no biography of him is written. This book attempts to piece together the story of his life from original and unpublished sources. Also, books, journals, newspaper reports, government publications, research papers and videos have been referred to, to understand his life in more depth.

His life journey runs parallel to that of the formation and division of Andhra Pradesh. With Andhra Pradesh having witnessed its polity evolve during different phases of Naidus life; this book aims to present his views in a structured and organised form for those who want to understand his ideas and his vision for Andhra Pradesh.

In this book, I view Andhra Pradesh as a startup. While a startup faces initial hiccups such as a resource crunch and fund crunch, Andhra Pradesh too is a state grappling with such challenges. Andhra Pradesh will be a result of several innovative experiments, similar to a startup that grows from a self-funded environment to raising external funding and in the process, figures out a workable economic and social inclusion model to make it sustainable.

For Hyderabad to emerge from a semi-urban town to a globally recognised city, Naidus ideas have been put into practice in the Southern state of united Andhra Pradesh. Today, everyone in the Telugu speaking states is reaping the fruits of his development ideas.

In this book, I attempt to answer: What are Chandrababu Naidus (CBN) ideas? How did he come to understand that his ideas would work? Why does he stand out among other chief ministers of our country? How did his initiatives and reforms bring about a change in governance? This book will explain how his ideas and thoughts revolutionised and transformed governance in Andhra Pradesh, the old and the new state.

There are two reasons for writing this book. First: to understand the man himself, and second: to understand Andhra Pradesh; where Naidus key ideas have been put to test, how have they fared? What are the tried and tested models, what was discarded and what was modified and transformed?

The thoughts and examples shared in this book include conversations with various people who have journeyed with him and watched him closely during different phases of his life. The chapters on the new state of Andhra Pradesh have been written based on my own experiences as the Communications Officer at the Office of the Advisor (Communications), Government of Andhra Pradesh from July 2014 to December 2015.

Part One of the book chronicles his life as a farmers son. It also brings out his personality traits, leadership qualities and collaborative approach in solving issues, eventually giving way to his political ambitions as a student leader. It explains Naidus first brush with real-life politics, his meeting with Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, and his role in strengthening the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). It explores how Naidu rose through the TDP ranks and became a force to reckon with after the famous midnight coup, dethroning NTR and taking over as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. It elaborates how he built his image as Indias modern administrator after the introduction of the 1991 economic reforms and proved his mettle as a capable Chief Minister. It includes his missteps, the politics in the state as well as Naidus fallout with the Naxalites. It also analyses the TDPs poll debacle in 2004 and the events that followed.

Part Two of the book details about YS Rajasekhar Reddys (YSR) leadership, TDPs waning clout, the formation of Praja Rajyam Party by K Chiranjeevi and the race for 2009 elections. This part explains how YSRs death brought political instability in the state and gave ammunition to K Chandrasekhar Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi to begin his fight for a separate Telangana State. It gives a detailed insight into the Telangana movement and the events that led to the bifurcation of united Andhra Pradesh. Another key section of part two explains the challenges of Naidu, politically and administratively, as he becomes the first CM of the new state of Andhra Pradesh, post-bifurcation. It mentions the consequences of bifurcation, the story behind choosing APs capital, the shifting of the government from Hyderabad to Vijayawada and the lessons Chandrababu Naidu learnt from his past mistakes. This section also focuses on his parallel diplomacy during his foreign trips as a representative of India and Andhra Pradesh, his collaborative approach with political leaders from across India and his skills in chairing national-level meetings and heading several development-oriented committees. It establishes the fact that the story of India and Andhra Pradesh is incomplete without him.