NELLORE: Just days before the annual conclave, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) dealt a blow to its Nellore workers by scrapping plans for a grand physical conclave at Kovur, opting instead for a hybrid format broadcast from the party’s Mangalagiri headquarters - a decision that has left grassroots leaders visibly disheartened after weeks of spirited preparation.
The disappointment runs deep, given what was at stake. Hosting Mahanadu in Nellore would have been a historic first since the party’s founding in the early 1980s. The prospect had electrified local cadres, riding high after the TDP-led NDA alliance swept all 10 Assembly constituencies in the district during the 2024 elections - the party’s strongest performance in the region in years.
Nellore’s political history has long been a story of shifting loyalties. Congress held sway over the district from 1955, dominating most Assembly segments until 1989, barring the 1967 polls. The TDP began chipping away at that dominance through the 1994 and 1999 elections before the political pendulum swung back. The 2024 result, however, saw the NDA sweep extinguish YSRCP’s presence in the district entirely.
The road to Kovur was itself a detour. The party had originally earmarked Srikakulam for Mahanadu - 2026, but logistical complications - chiefly the overlap with the Bhogapuram airport inauguration - forced a last-minute pivot to Nellore. What followed was a burst of energetic planning, with nearly seven lakh attendees expected for the concluding public meeting on May 29.
On May 13, senior leaders including TDP State president Palla Srinivasa Rao, along with ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs, gathered at the IFFCO Kisan SEZ in Kovur the chosen venue for a high-level preparatory meeting. Committees were constituted and arrangements swiftly set in motion.
Then came the reversal. With barely 12 days to go, the party leadership called off the large-scale physical event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for restraint amid the prolonged West Asia crisis is understood to have prompted the TDP leadership to scale back. Mahanadu - 2026 will now be conducted in hybrid mode from Mangalagiri, with participation channelled virtually through 1,848 clusters.
TDP politburo member and Kovur MLA Vemireddy Prashanti Reddy addressed the media in Nellore on Saturday, responding to the change in plans.
Sensing the disappointment in the TDP cadre, Prashanti Reddy assured them that she will request CM Naidu to visit the Kovur Assembly constituency and schedule a mega public meeting.