Focus on performance

Interview with N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Despite a well-knit organisation and a party constitution that talks about collective leadership, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaves all decisions to its president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The three-day mahanadu of the party at Tirupati was steered through by him, and his was the final word on every issue that came up for discussion. Chandrababu Naidu spoke to V. Krishna Ananth about the significance of the mahanadu and about contemporary political issues. Excerpts:

What is the focus of the Tirupati mahanadu?

The TDP holds the mahanadu as an annual affair. This is an important event for our party in that it is an occasion when we discuss the party's performance as well as that of the government. The mahanadu is where the party's direction for the coming year is set. The next mahanadu, in Hyderabad, will be different. We plan to hold a rally at the end of it and our election manifesto will be released then.

Holding mahanadus for such a purpose would mean that the delegates take part in a debate. But the atmosphere in Tirupati is one where the party as a whole looks up to you for directions. In what way does this help?

The mahanadu is not an isolated event. We have a subjects committee in the party where the issues to be discussed are identified and a draft framework is prepared. This framework is placed before the district-level conferences of the party where elaborate discussions take place. The subject matter of the discussions in the districts are collated and placed before a workshop in which leaders from the various districts interact with State-level leaders. The resolutions that we place before the mahanadu are drafted after such a long process. The mahanadu in that way is not a ritual.

You were the convener of the United Front, a formation that was born out of an agenda to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out of power. Now your party is sustaining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government. How do you explain this change of stance?

We were clear about it from the beginning. What we want is to provide good governance in the State and at the Centre. We are not after power. We are not sharing power with the BJP, but at the same time we are fighting against the Congress(I) and its misdeeds.

But all these do not explain your helplessness in the aftermath of the anti-minority carnage in Gujarat. How do you react to the fact that you could not intervene at all in the issue?

We intervened. We took it to the logical conclusion also.

How can you say that when Narendra Modi continues as Chief Minister even after you sought his exit and when TDP support is crucial for the survival of the NDA government?

We made our stand clear in Parliament. Our party even walked out of the House on the issue, unlike some others in the NDA, like the National Conference.

But you did not take it to the logical end...

You must realise that there are so many problems facing the people. You cannot get bogged down in just one issue. We are clear about ourselves. Ideologically, we are secular. You will not achieve anything by fighting against everything all the time. You have to focus on performance.

But even on this count, your demand for rice as part of the drought-relief package from the Centre has not been met this year. Have your tactics failed?

We need to look at things from a positive side, rather than looking at our efforts from a restricted framework of success and failure.

How do you perceive the demand for a separate Telengana State growing into a movement?

We are opposed to the demand for the simple reason that a united Andhra Pradesh gives us better leverage when we negotiate with the Central government or even when we negotiate with the World Bank and other agencies.

Will you continue your alliance and seat adjustment with the BJP in the next elections to the Lok Sabha too?

We shall discuss that and take a decision when the time comes. I do not want to talk about it now.