CBN, UNCOMPROMISING LEADER – THE JOURNEY CONTINUES ………

CBN, UNCOMPROMISING LEADER – THE JOURNEY CONTINUES ………

Leadership is not about next election, it’s about the next generation. A leader's job is not to do the work for others, it's to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done, and to succeed beyond what they thought possible. 

CHANDRABABU NAIDU:

The above quote of Simon Sinek exactly reflects the personality of Sri. Chandrababu Naidu, whose untiring political journey over forty years brought laurels to Telugu community across the globe with his sheer hard work and futuristic thinking. Exactly four years back, residual Andhra Pradesh came into existence with huge budget deficit and no shelter to run its administration. With his exemplary leadership skills, CBN created temporary secretariat within 8 months span of time, shifted administration to new city –Amaravathi and proved that AP people are capable, committed, hard working and can do wonders under able leadership.

Despite scarce resources, non cooperative union Government, Sri Naidu with his ability to motivate people, grip over administration, leveraging skills, achieved double digit growth   and ensured that Andhra Pradesh is number one in the country. 

CBN believes in long term vision with clear measurable goals and strives to achieve them through meticulous planning and implementation road map. Till the target is hit, he will not sleep and allow others to sleep. He strongly believes that there are no shortcut methods for success and ensure that sound foundation is laid. Often his own team found his path difficult, but once they understood the purpose behind it, they admire him and follow the leader. There is no place for time passers and people looking for overnight fortunes in CBN team and such people come into party as extra luggage and leave it as extra luggage.

For the leader in CBN, party is everything, party is supreme, and people are secondary. When it comes to personal life it is different relationship, he help friends, maintain good relations, take care of family and relatives in his personal capacity and never mix party with personal life. 

LEADER EMERGED FROM NARAVARIPALLI:

CBN is a born leader with natural ability to attract public gather around issues and find solutions. His leadership journey continued to SV University, Tirupati, where he held various positions including student union president. 

His leadership skills at University got the attention of Congress leadership and was chosen as congress MLA candidate from Chandragiri assembly segment in 1978 and elected as one of the youngest MLAs in AP. Within two years he became minister in T Anjaiah cabinet and subsequently married into NTR family. There is no money or  god fathers for CBN in politics, he proved that an individual without any background  can reach these position and became role model for youth. In 1983 CBN contested as Congress candidate from Chandragiri and lost the election to TDP nominee.

ENTRY INTO TDP:

In 1984, he resigned from Congress and joined TDP and started supporting NTR in party activities and focused on party cadre building, as it is a very important for a young party voted to power based on emotions and Telugu pride as an issues. CBN quickly understood the need for organization base and started working on village level gross root organization building and successfully moved forward, despite hurdles from seniors in the party.

Within a year there was a threat to party leadership in 1985 in the form of Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, which CBN could successfully handle due to his organization base at village level and networking with few anti congress national parties. Though there was a chance to become minster, CBN choose not to contest 1985 elections and took up party positions and within few years made TDP as the most disciplined cadre based party in AP state. During this period he promoted AP Karshak Parishad as Chairman, through this institution could reach village systems and establish effective control over them.

REAL SUPPORT TO NTR:

In 1989, CBN contested from Kuppam and elected as TDP MLA and party lost power to Congress. As TDP party coordinator and General Secretary of the party, Sri Naidu played a vital role in party. In the absence of NTR, on floor of the house CBN handled the proceedings  effectively. CBN with real hard work and commitment  exhibited, could expose congress failures in public eye and instrumental in TDP coming back to power in 1994 with landslide victory.

Though it looks rosy from outside , it was not an easy journey for CBN, as there are always some elements in party who were making desperate attempts to make party weak and hijack it. CBN left no room left for such misdeeds and successful in handling them with minimum or negligible damage to party. Because of excellent organization built by CBN, despite disturbances from so called senior leaders in party, nothing untoward happened and party successfully move forward under the leadership of NTR.

CBN played commendable role in 1994 MLA ticket distribution and did meticulous job in handling dissidents and put up a good show of strength during electioneering. CBN used to call leaders who could not be accommodated, convince them by talking to them, promising future positions etc and exhibited his organization skills and established himself as undisputed number two in TDP.

MOST DIFFICULT TIMES:

In 1994 elections TDP came back to power for third time by winning 216 seats on its own and over 250 seats together with alliance parties, thus reducing congress to just 26 seats in 294 strong AP Assembly. NTR duly recognized the role played by CBN for the party and its election victory and suitably rewarded him by giving finance and revenue portfolios. This new role enhanced his responsibility over the party organization.

With NTR second marriage in 1993 with Lakshmi Parvathi (LP), there was always a feeling of embarrassment in party as well as NTR family and that could not be ventilated openly due to towering image of NTR and in fact the feeling was simmering in party. After NTR became CM for third time in December, 1994, the interference of LP in party and Government clearly prevailed and party started losing its image. At the same time LP established more control over NTR and tried to create distance within the family. LP went to the extent of directing few ministers and senior officers and started establishing as unofficial power centre. These could not be digested and started leading to uncomfortable situations within the party leadership as well as party cadre.

Had it been some other party, it would have succumbed to pressures. TDP being a disciplined party with gross root cadre base, which was built with sweat of CBN over 20 years, the party restrained from revolt and tried to prevail our the fatherly figure NTR.

When things started moving out of control and opposition was active in encasing the situation, the senior party leaders requested CBN to shoulder the responsibility of eliminating LP influence. It was perhaps the most difficult time and situation for CBN. One side it is NTR, fatherly figure  – Father In Law, mentor and everything to CBN and on the other side TDP party – which is more dearer to NTR, his vision, dream of 7 crore telugu people.

At this juncture, entire NTR family stood with CBN, looked for his leadership to save the party, Government and family from the clutches of LP.  As a sincere soldier of party, with the backing of NTR family, CBN took up the responsibility of saving the situation from LP and became  AP CM in August, 1995.

CBN DURING 1995-2004:

1995-96 is the most crucial period in CBN political and personal life. One side there was a split in party and one group moved out with Lakshmi Parvathi. On the other side, CBN sacrificing family interests to the long term vision of party and to keep the flock intact. There was split in family and difference of opinions cropped up, CBN absorbed them with great pain and proved that leader is the one who will not go down to pressures and ensured that public good always prevail over family. These bad feelings still continue to prevail and once in a while crop up. One has to see with larger heart to understand the inner feelings of CBN towards family and how the leader in him has to control the feelings in the larger interest of the party. Without proper understanding of CBN personality and his sacrifices, some sections call him back stabber, power monger etc, which is not fair. For whose sake he sacrificed his family interests and saved the state and party? Had he continued with NTR also, CM seat would have automatically come to him, once NTR decide to get into Delhi politics, he need not have taken this blame on him.

With his hard work and leadership skills, CBN could establish as good ruler with long term vision. With visioning exercise, industrial policy, Janmabhoomi and series of programs very soon CBN became household name in Andhra Pradesh. Party and Government are always two eyes for him and both are taken care in most deserving manner.

Slowly he could establish himself firmly in national politics and played crucial role in making Sri Deve Gowda as PM in 1996. With demise of NTR in 1996, the entire party came into CBN fold and LP was singled out and cut to size. TDP under the leadership of CBN fared well in 1996, 1998 parliament elections and thus proved that CBN leadership in party is accepted by party cadre and public at large.

Gauging the mood of the nation in 1999, CBN decided to sail with BJP with pre poll alliance and gave big shock to secular forces. Though many criticized for this U turn in TDP policy, CBN actions are justified in the interest of stable Government at centre and third front is not in position to counter congress. Also Vajpayee emerged as most acceptable leader among many anti congress secular parties particularly after his theory of Gandhian secularism.   

TDP survived anti incumbency and won the elections against all odds due to the sustainable developmental works taken up by CBN Government and he was sworn in as CM for second term. With Vajpayee as PM it was golden period for AP with full support from central government. NDA Government duly recognized the contributions of CBN and made him as NDA convener. CBN contributions at national level include identifying Abdul Kalam ji as President of India.

During this period CBN could establish Hyderabad as the best city and create a new city by name Cyberabad within Hyderabad and brought international reputed companies like Microsoft, ISB etc to Hyderabad. This is the period in which CBN tried establishing measurable and accountable systems in governance, sector reforms and brought in accountability in Government. Ring road, Hyderabad International airport are initiated during this period. Despite the best governance and long-term sustainable projects initiated, TDP lost mandate to Congress under the leadership of YSR, mainly due to agrarian unrest caused by severe successive drought years and resentment among Government employees as they misunderstood the reforms brought in Governance by CBN.

CBN during 2004 -2014:  

The sector reforms initiated by CBN started yielding good results in this period, resulting in many fold increase in state revenues. YSR as CM largely got benefited from the reforms and could able to give free power and other social welfare measures. Instead of giving credit to CBN, the congress government wanted to create troubles to CBN and implicated him with 29 false cases, none of them could withstand in court of law.

Under the vindictive congress rule, it was enormous task for CBN to keep the party intact and effectively expose the government in public by raising issues in assembly. Despite hostile political environment and hardly any qualitative support from senior party functionaries, CBN fought a lone battle with congress and safeguarded the party from evil forces.

Due to PRP and Loksatta playing into the hands of Congress, the anti establishment vote got split and congress came back to power in 2009 again and CBN was again made to sit in opposition.

YSR demise in helicopter crash, Jagan coming out of congress and starting regional party (YSRCP), growing demand by TRS for separate state, weak leadership in congress pushed the state into backwardness and suddenly AP lost its momentum. YSRCP with the sympathy wave of YSR quickly made inroads into Royalseema and coastal AP and TDP faced worst ever defeats including loosing deposits in some by elections.

        

None of these shattered the confidence of CBN as leader and architect of TDP and he played the classic political game of bridge with perfect professionalism and wins back the confidence of people. The TDP stand on state separation is positively understood by people of AP and they  preferred CBN over Jagan as CM of newly carved state of AP.

2014 Onwards …..  

This is the most challenging phase in CBN political carrier, he took up the position of CM  as challenge and quickly moved with development agenda and took up the major task of building the capital city – Amaravathi with unique people participation model. The election promises such as crop loan waiver, DWCRA loans reimbursement, irrigation potential tapping etc became major challenges in a state gifted with deficit finance by union government by way of injustice done with unfair division of state. CBN with his wisdom and experience ignited fire in hardworking people of AP and in no time state started progressing in all fronts.

When things are moving in right direction, NDA Government put a severe blow on AP by going back on election promises and items mentioned in reorganization bill such as special status and others. CBN came out of NDA, silenced opposition remarks on TDP-BJP dosti and quickly gained the confidence of people and moving forward as a guide, philosopher, visionary, and fighter.

The way CBN mobilized opposition parties against BJP at National level,  his role in keeping BJP out of power in Karnataka, for the first time created an impression that 2019 is not a cake walk for BJP. 

TDP PARTY …….    

The party started by NTR, nourished with affection and care by CBN for over 35 years is dearer to the hearts of Telugu and TDP is synonym to the pride of Telugu. The commitment with which the party was built with solid foundation, keeps it going despite so many setbacks. The very recent personal attack of Motkupalli Narasimhulu on party and CBN in particular and the way party handled the situation, shows the maturity of party under dynamic leadership of CBN.

TDP is just not a party, it is a political university from which so many graduated, post graduated, completed their doctoral and postdoctoral works and serving both telugu states in various capacities in all political parties and making their presence significant.

This is the greatest ever tribute to NTR and recognition to CBN as chief architect of TDP and the journey of CBN continue forever with TDP for the welfare of people.

IT IS NEVER ENDING JOURNEY – THE STEPS TOWARDS WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT.   

B GURUVA REDDY – 9866889246

grbonthu@gmail.com